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CAN  WE  FORGET?  By  Dr 


J.  E.  TALMAGE, 


IN     THE     7WTKV     NUTV^BER 

Vol.111.  The  Glory  of  God  is  Intelligence.  NO.    6. 

IMPROVEMENT 
ERA. 

Organ  of  Young  Men's   Mutual  Improvement   Associations. 

PUBLISHED  BY  THE  GENERAL  BOARD. 

Joseph  F.  Smith,       j  «  j,j-__  Hebbr  J.  Grant,  i  Business 

Edw.  h.  Anderson,  j  ^'""ors.  Thos.  Hull,  j     Managers. 

APRIL,  1900. 
TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 

The  Kingdom  of  Heaven Prof.  J.  H.  Paul  401 

A  Ride  on  the  "Empire  State  Express" George  E.  Hill  407 

For  the  Salvation  of  Souls.  Part  Second...  Nephi  Anderson  412 
Collection  < if  Anecdotes: 

There  is  a  Life  Beyond Samuel  L.  Adams  421 

Memories  of  the  Past — Nauvoo Hon.  Jesse  N.  Smith  424 

A  Brother's  Definition  of  Gross  Darkness  C.  L.   Walker  426 

Be  Not  Discouraged Prest.  W.  W.  Cluff  428 

A  Trip  South  with  President  Young  in  1870  C.  R.  Savage  431 
Through  Christ    and  Repentance  are  ye 

Saved.    A  Poem Annie  G.  Lauritzen  436 

Silent  Forces Henry  W.  Naisbitt  437 

Brilliants.    A  Poem Selected  443 

Theology  in  Education— II Prof.  Willard  Done  444 

"The  Manuscript  Found."— Ill President  Joseph  F.  Smith  451 

Life  AND  Labors  of  Sidney  Rigdon. — V John  Jaques  458 

The  South  African    War.— V Dr.  J.  M.  Tanner  463 

Give  Yourself 470 

Editor's  Table:      Mission   Work— Death  of 

Chief  Washakie 471 

Notes 475 

Our  Work:    Title  of  Officers— General    Con- 
ference—Manual  1900-1— Book   Mention  476 
Events  of  the  Month Thrnias  Hull  479 


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^ 


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(WHEN  WRITING  TO  ADVERTISERS   MENTION  THE  ERA. 


IMPROVEMENT   ERA. 


Vol.  III.  APRIL,  1900.  No.  6. 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  HEAVEN. 

THE  ORTHODOX  CHRISTIAN  VIEW  COMPARED  WITH  THAT 
OF  THE  LATTER-DAY  SAINTS. 

BY  PROF.  J.  H.  PAUL,  PKESIDENT  OF  L.  D.  S.  COLLEGE,  SALT  LAKE  CITY. 


I. 

The  Christian  churches  believe  that  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven 
was  set  up  on  earth  by  Christ  and  the  apostles,  being  identical  with 
the  church  of  those  days;  that  it  is  a  spiritual  kingdom,  not  a 
visible  one,  except  in  so  far  as  the  outward  church  or  churches 
may  represent  it;  that  it  has  been  on  the  earth  ever  since  the  day 
of  Christ;  and  that  it  is  even  now  gradually  filling  the  whole  earth. 
A  good  exposition  of  the  general  Christian  belief  on  this  point  is 
given  by  the  Rev.  Robert  Jamieson,  D.  D.  of  Glasgow,  in  his  com- 
mentary on  Psalm  110,  which  is  a  sequel  to  the  second  psalm,  and 
represents  the  kingdom  of  the  Messiah.  The  grandeur  of  the 
theme,  the  dignity  of  the  language,  and  the  fact  that  this  psalm 
(110)  is  six  times  quoted  in  the  New  Testament,  and  every  time 
with  a  reference  to  Christ,  show  its  Messianic  character  almost  as 
plainly  as  do  the  words  themselves: 

The  Lord  said  unto  my  Lord,  Sit  thou  at  my  right  hand,  until  I  mak 
thine  enemies  my  footstool.  The  Lord  shall  send  the  rod  of  thy  strength 


402  IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 

out  of  Zion:  rule  thou  in  the  midst  of  thine  enemies.  Thy  people  shall 
be  willing  in  the  day  of  thy  power,  in  the  beauties  of  holiness  from  the 
womb  of  the  morning:  thou  hast  the  dew  of  thy  youth.  The  Lord  hath 
sworn,  and  will  not  repent,  Thou  art  a  priest  forever  after  the  order  of 
Melchizedek.  The  Lord  at  thy  right  hand  shall  strike  through  kings  in 
the  day  of  his  wrath.  He  shall  'judge  among  the  heathen,  he  shall  fill 
the  places  with  the  dead  bodies;  he  shall  wound  the  heads  over  many 
countries.  He  shall  drink  of  the  brook  in  the  way:  therefore  shall  he 
lift  up  the  head.     (Psalm  110.) 

THE   ORTHODOX  CHRISTIAN   VIEW. 

"The  Psalm,  which  begins  in  the  abrupt  style  of  a  lyric,  intro- 
duces the  reader  all  at  once,  in  imagination,  into  the  court  of 
heaven,  when  the  triumphant  Savior  on  his  ascension  day  enters; 
amid  the  applause  and  acclamations  of  countless  multitudes  of 
blessed  spirits,  and  far  above  the  most  exalted  of  them,  at  an 
immense  distance,  is  seen  seated  on  his  celestial  throne,  Jehovah, 
the  Lord  of  all.  The  Savior,  having  completed  his  work  on  earth, 
has  just  returned,  and  as  he  passes  through  the  happy  throng,  to 
take,  as  might  be  expected,  a  place  with  the  highest  order  of 
angels,  the  voice  of  Jehovah  is  heard  calling  him  to  sit  at  his  right 
hand.  *  *  *  rpj^g  j-q^j  ^f  Cbrist's  strength  is  the  Gos- 
pel, which  is  described  as  'powerful'  (Heb.  4:  12),  and  it  was  to  be 
sent  out  of  Zion— i.  e.,  the  Gospel,  by  which  a  rebellious  world  is 
to  be  subdued  to  God  and  governed  by  Christ,  and  should  issue 
from  Jerusalem,  where  the  hill  of  Zion  stood.  (Ps.  14:  7.)  And 
the  fact  corresponded  with  these  predictions;  for  the  apostles,  as 
enjoined  by  the  last  commands  of  their  Lord,  tarried  in  Jerusalem 
for  the  promised  descent  of  the  Spirit,  and  after  Pentecost  began 
to  preach  the  Gospel  in  that  city,  which  thus  became  the  center 
from  which  the  light  of  divine  truth,  that  was  to  diffuse  itself 
eventually  over  the  whole  world,  should  emanate.  *  *  * 
Christ  actually  did  rule  in  the  midst  of  his  enemies;  for  so  rapid 
was  the  propagation  of  Christianity  that,  in  spite  of  the  combined 
opposition  of  emperors,  philosophers,  priests  and  the  countless 
devotees  of  idolatry,  'the  religion  of  Christ  went  on  conquering 
and  to  conquer,  till  it  not  only  acquired  the  ascendant  but  became 
the  established  faith  of  the  Roman  empire.  Christ's  rule  over  his 
enemies  was  exercised  in  two  ways:  some  who  were  implacable  and 


*  THE  KINGDOM  OF  HEAVEN.  403 

malignant  foes,  he  overthrew  and  crushed,  such  as  Herod;  while 
others,  who  constituted  a  mighty  multitude,  were  converted  into 
friends,  as  Paul.  *  *  *  *xhy  people,'  i.  e.,  his  soldiers 
were  more  than  willing.  *  *  *  Hence  the  Gospel  is 
called  the  day  of  his  power.  *  *  *  Under  this  bold 
and  warlike  imagery,  the  Psalmist  describes  the  moral  victories 
which  the  Prince  of  Peace  accomplishes  in  the  world." 

To  the  objection  of  De  Wette  that  this  interpretation  "can- 
not be  of  much  account,  since  the  Messiah  is  [in  this  psalm] 
throughout  represented  as  a  theocratic  ruler — nay  even  as  a  war- 
rior," Mr.  Jamieson  concedes  that,  "it  is  not  enough  to  say  that  in 
abundance  of  other  passages,  the  kingdom  of  the  Messiah  is  repre- 
sented as  one  of  righteousness  and  peace;  and  that  all  these 
descriptions  are  to  be  understood  of  purely  spiritual  victories,  con- 
veyed in  warlike  imagery.  The  true  answer  is  this:  God  has, 
from  the  beginning,  carried  forward  his  kingdom  in  a  two-fold 
line  of  administration — the  providential  or  outward  line,  and  the 
spiritual  or  inward.  To  the  outward  or  providential  line  belong 
all  those  mighty  movements  which  have  accompanied  the  progress 
of  God's  church  along  her  course  to  the  present  hour." 

The  saying  of  Christ,  "The  kingdom  of  God  is  within  you." 
(Luke  17:  21),  which  is  mainly  relied  upon  to  prove  the  correct- 
ness of  the  Christian  tradition,  is  not  at  all  conclusive  after  we 
discover  that  the  word  translated  here  "within"  is  the  same  word 
that  is  elsewhere  translated  "among,"  as  where  John  says,  "There 
standeth  one  among  you  whom  you  know  not"  The  Revised  Ver- 
sion gives  the  alternative  reading,  "The  Kingdom  of  God  is  in  the 
midst  of  you." 

The  Kingdom  was  the  theme  of  the  prophets,  and  the  hope  of 
John  the  Baptist  (Matt.ll  :l-6),  and  the  apostles  (Acts  1 : 6,7),  none  of 
whom  supposed  they  were  as  yet  in  the  Kingdom  nor  the  Kingdom  in 
them.  Paul  and  the  others  always  looked  forward  to  a  Kingdom 
yet  to  be. 

That  which  I  believe  to  be  the  scriptural  view,  representing 
the  general  belief  of  the  Latter-day  Saints  as  to  the  Kingdom,  is 
summarized  in  what  follows.  Owing  to  the  length  of  the  article 
some  desirable  quotations  are  omitted  and  no  comments  beyond 
the  headings  are  made  upon  the  texts  quoted. 


404  IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 

VIEW  OF  THE  LATTER-DAY    SAINTS. 

I.  The  Lord  claims  paramount  authority  over  the  earth;  he 
has  appointed  a  king  over  it,  and  will  certainly  establish  his 
kingdom. 

Yet  have  I  set  my  king  upon  my  holy  hill  of  Zion.  I  will  declare 
the  decree.  The  Lord  said  unto  me,  Thou  art  my  son;  this  day  have  I 
begotten  thee.     (Psalm  2.) 

I  have  found  David,  my  servant;  with  my  holy  oil  have  I  anointed 
him.     (Psalm  89.) 

The  Lord  said  unto  my  Lord,  Sit  thou  at  my  right  hand  until  I  make 
thine  enemies  thy  footstool.  The  Lord  shall  send  the  rod  of  thy  strength 
out  of  Zion:  rule  thou  in  the  midst  of  thine  enemies.     (Psalm  110.) 

Jesus  said  unto  them.  Verily  I  say  unto  you.  That  ye  which  have 
followed  me,  in  the  regeneration  when  the  Son  of  man  shall  sit  in  the 
throne  of  his  glory,  ye  also  shall  sit  upon  twelve  thrones,  judging  the 
twelve  tribes  of  Israel.     (Matthew  19:  28.) 

IL  It  will  be  an  actual,  visible,  earthly  kingdom,  not  a  so- 
called  spiritual  one. 

Behold  a  king  shall  reign  in  righteousness,  and  princes  shall  rule  in 
judgment.  *  *  *  And  my  people  shall  dwell  in  a  peaceable  habita- 
tion, and  in  sure  dwellings,  and  in  quiet  resting  places.  (Isaiah  32:  1,  18.) 

And  they  shall  build  houses  and  inhabit  them;  and  they  shall  plant 
vineyards  and  eat  the  fruit  of  them.     (Isaiah  65:  21.) 

in.  It  is  to  be  set  up  on  the  earth  in  a  definite  place. 

And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  the  last  days  that  the  mountain  of  the 
Lord's  house  shall  be  established  in  the  top  of  the  mountains,  and  shall 
be  exalted  above  the  hills;  and  all  nations  shall  flow  unto  it.  And  many 
people  shall  go  and  say,  come  ye,  and  let  us  go  up  to  the  mountain  of 
the  Lord,  to  the  house  of  the  God  of  Jacob;  and  he  will  teach  us  of  his 
ways,  and  we  will  walk  in  his  paths;  for  out  of  Zion  shall  go  forth  the 
law  and  the  word  of  the  Lord  from  Jerusalem.     (Isaiah  2:  2,  3.) 

IV.  And  at  a  certain  appointed  time. 

There  is  a  God  in  heaven  that  revealeth  secrets,  and  maketh  known 
*  *  *  what  shall  come  to  pass  in  the  latter  days.  *  *  *  And  in 
the  days  of  these  kings  [the  nations  of  modern  Europe]  shall  the  God  of 
heaven  set  up  a  kingdom,  which  shall  never  be  destroyed;  but  it  shall 
break  in  pieces  and  consume  all  -these  kingdoms,  and  it  shall  stand 
forever.     (Daniel  2:  44.) 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  HEAVEN.  405 

V.  Christ's  kingdom  will  begin  in  a  desert  place,  which  is  to 
become  fruitful.  | 

The  wilderness  and  the  solitary  place  shall  be  glad  for  them,  aild 
the  desert  shall  rejoice,  and  blossom  as  the  rose.  *  *  *  And  the 
parched  ground  shall  become  a  pool,  and  the  thirsty  land  springs  of 
water.     (Isaiah  35.) 

I  will  open  rivers  in  high  places  and  fountains  in  the  midst  of  the 
valleys.  *  *  *  i  ^ill  set  in  the  desert  the  fir  tree  and  the  pine  and 
the  box  tree  together.     (Isaiah  41:  18,  19.) 

Instead  of  the  thorn  shall  come  up  the  fir  tree,  and  instead  of  the 
brier  shall  come  up  the  myrtle  tree.     (Isaiah  55:  13.) 

VI.  Its  citizens  shall  be  a  people  who  have  been  despised  and 
downtrodden;  but  they  shall  be  made  great  and  powerful. 

In  that  time  shall  the  present  be  brought  unto  the  Lord  of  hosts  of 
a  people  scattered  and  peeled,  and  from  a  people  terrible  from  their  be- 
ginning hitherto;  a  nation  meted  out  and  trodden  underfoot,  whose  land 
the  rivers  have  spoiled,  to  the  place  of  the  name  of  the  Lord  of  hosts, 
the  mount  Zion.     (Isaiah  18:  7.) 

A  little  one  shall  become  a  thousand  and  a  small  one  a  strong  nation. 
(Isaiah  60:  22.) 

And  strangers  shall  stand  and  feed  your  flocks,  and  the  sons  of  the 
alien  shall  be  your  ploughmen  and  your  vine-dressers.  But  ye  shall  be 
named  priests  of  the  Lord:  men  shall  call  you  the  ministers  of  our  God. 
(Isaiah  61:  5,  6.) 

And  all  thy  children  shall  be  taught  of  the  Lord;  and  great  shall  be 
the  peace  of  thy  children.  No  weapon  that  is  formed  against  thee  shall 
prosper;  and  every  tongue  that  shall  rise  against  thee  in  judgment  thou 
shalt  condemn.     (Isaiah  54:  13-17.) 

VII.  His  people  shall  be  unpopular,  and  shall  endure  reproach 
and  persecution,  but  shall  be  known  by  their  fruits. 

Think  not  that  I  am  come  to  send  peace  on  the  earth:  I  came 
not  to  send  peace  but  a  sword.  For  I  am  come  to  set  a  man  at  vari- 
ance against  his  father,  and  the  daughter  against  her  mother,  and  the 
daughter-in-law  against  the  mother-in-law.  And  a  man's  foes  shall  be 
they  of  his  own  household.     (Matthew  10:  34-36.) 

Yea,  and  all  that  will  live  godly  in  Christ  Jesus  shall  suffer  persecu- 
tion.    (II.  Timothy  3:  12.) 

In  this  the  children  of  God  are  manifest,  and  the  children  of  the 


406  IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 

devil:  whosoever  doeth  not  righteousness  is  not  of  God,  neither  he  that 
loveth  not  his  brother.     (John  3:  10.) 

Wherefore  by  their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them.     (Matthew  7:  20.) 

VIII.  This  kingdom  will  encounter  many  enemies  and  much 
opposition;  but  the  opposition  is  vain,  absurd,  and  irrational. 

Why  do  the  heathen  rage,  and  the  people  imagine  a  vain  thing?  The 
kings  of  the  earth  set  themselves,  and  the  rulers  take  counsel  together, 
against  the  Lord,  and  against  his  anointed,  saying,  Let  us  break  their 
bands  asunder,  and  cast  away  their  cords  from  us.  He  that  sitteth  in 
the  heavens  shall  laugh;  the  Lord  shall  have  them  in  derision.  *  *  * 
Be  wise  now  therefore,  0  ye|kings:  be  instructed,  ye  judges  of  the  earth. 
(Psalm  2.) 

IX.  The  enemies  of  this  kingdom,  after  being  warned,  are  to 
be  overthrown. 

Then  shall  he  speak  unto  them  in  his  wrath,  and  vex  them  in  his  sore 
displeasure.  *  *  *  Thou  shalt  break  them  with  a  rod  of  iron;  thou 
shalt  dash  them  in  pieces  like  a  potter's  vessel.     (Psalm  2.) 

The  Lord  at  thy  right  hand  shall  strike  through  kings  in  the  day  of 
his  wrath.  He  shall  judge  among  the  heathen,  he  shall  fill  the  places 
with  the  dead  bodies;  he  shall  wound  the  heads  over  many  countries. 
(Psalm  110.) 

X.  In  the  overthrow  of  God's  enemies,  his  people  are  to  be 
the  instruments. 

Thy  people  shall  be  willing  in  the  day  of  thy  power,  in  the  beauties 
of  holiness  from  the  womb  of  the  morning;  thou  hast  the  dew  of  thy 
youth.     (Psalm  110.) 

Let  the  saints  be  joyful  in  glory:  let  them  sing  aloud  upon  their 
beds.  Let  the  high  praises  of  God  be  in  their  mouth,  and  a  two-edged 
sword  in  their  hand;  to  execute  vengeance  upon  the  heathen,  and  punish- 
ments upon  the  people;  to  bind  their  kings  with  chains,  and  their  nobles 
with  fetters  of  iron;  to  execute  upon  them  the  judgment  written:  this 
honor  have  all  his.  saints.     (Psalm  149.) 

(  To  be  concluded  in  May  number.) 


A  RIDE   ON  THE   LOCOMOTIVE   OF    THE 
^^EMPIRE  STATE  EXPRESS/^ 

BY  GEORGE  E.   HILL. 


Congress  having  adjourned  for  the  holiday  season,  I  betook 
myself  to  the  great  city  of  New  York,  both  for  the  purpose  of 
"seeing  the  sights,"  and  visiting  relatives.  I  landed  in  the  Metrop- 
olis on  the  day  before  Christmas,  and  spent  nearly  all  of  the  fore- 
,  part  of  the  week  visiting  the  points  of  interest  in  and  about  the 
city,  whose  names  are  legion. 

The  most  exciting  and  interesting  feature  of  my  stay  in 
the  ''big"  town  was  a  ride  on  the  engine  which  pulls  the  "Empire 
State  Express"  from  Albany,  the  State  Capital,  to  New  York  City, 
a  distance  of  one  hundred  and  forty-three  miles,  over  the  New 
York  Central  and  Hudson  River  Railroad,  without  a  stop.  I  fully 
realized  what  the  coal  dust  and  other  inconveniences  attendant 
upon  such  an  undertaking  would  be,  still,  I  decided  to  accept  the 
invitation  to  ride.  This  road  extends  north  from  New  York  to 
Albany  and  Buffalo,  and  is  recognized  as  the  best  equipped  rail- 
road in  the  East.  The  trains  depart  from  the  Grand  Central 
Passenger  Station,  the  only  one  in  the  city,  and  which  is  centrally 
located  on  Forty-second  Street,  and  Fourth  Avenue.  It  has 
recently  been  rebuilt,  and  is  now  one  of  the  largest  and  finest 
passenger  stations  in  the  world.  All  the  trains  of  the  above  named 
company  arrive  and  depart  from  this  depot.  There  are  on  an 
average,  three  hundred  and  twenty  regular  passenger  trains  arriv- 
ing and  departing  from  this  station  each  business  day  of  the  year, 
and  during  the  busy  season  many  of  these  trains  are  in  two  sec- 
tions.    During  the  past  year,  there  were  nearly  fourteen  million 


408  IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 

passengers  in  and  out  of  this  depot— an  average  of  more  than 
thirty-eight  thousand  per  day.  An  idea  of  the  through  train  ser- 
vice of  the  New  York  Central  to  the  North  and  West  may  be 
obtained  from  the  fact  that  there  are  twelve  trains  per  day  to 
Buffalo,  nine  to  Niagara  Falls,  eight  to  Chicago,  six  to  Cleveland, 
five  to  Detroit,  two  to  Indianapolis  and  St.  Louis,  three  to  Cincinnatti, 
two  to  Toronto,  four  to  Montreal,  three  to  the  Thousand  Islands, 
two  to  Adirondack  Mountains,  eight  to  Saratoga,  and,  in  addition, 
numerous  express  trains  to  local  points  on  the  line.  All  this  in 
addition  to  the  freight  traffic. 

At  10:30  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  December  30,  1899,  we 
boarded  engine  No.  872  which  has  drive  wheels  six  feet  six  inches 
in  diameter,  with  cylinder  stroke  of  two  feet.     At  a  given  signal, 
we  began  to  speed  northward.     On  leaving  the  passenger  station, 
the  road,  which  is  four-tracked,  tunnels  under  the  city  for  two 
miles,  and  is  then  built  upon  an  elevated  structure  for  several 
miles  further  before  reaching  the  outskirts  of  the  city.     From 
the  depot  to  the  city  limits,  on  the  north,  the  distance  is  fourteen 
miles.     In  traversing  this  space,  the  ringing  of  the  locomotive 
bell  and  the  blowing  of  the  whistle,  are  forbidden  by  city  ordi- 
nance.    The  use  of  coal  is  forbidden  in  any  of  the  engines  while 
traveling  over  this  distance,  as  the  emission  of  black  smoke  is 
prohibited  within  the  city  limits;  coke  is  used  instead  of  coal  to 
generate  steam.     The  road  runs  close  alongside  the  bank  of  the 
broad  and  beautiful  Hudson  River  all  the  way  from  New  York  to 
Albany.     This  river  is  four  miles  across  at  its  widest  point,  and,  dur- 
ing the  boating  season,  literally  swarms  with  all  kinds  of  water 
craft;  but  at  this  time  of  year  it  is  frozen  over.  To  get  off  Manhattan 
Island,  on  which  New  York  City  is  situated,  this  road  passes  over 
the  Harlem-River  draw  bridge,  the  largest  swinging  bridge  in  the 
world.    Among  the  points  of  interest  along  the  west  shore  of  the 
Hudson  are  the  following:   the  Highlands;   the  Palisades;  West 
Point  Military   Academy;    Newburg;  Washington's  headquarters 
during  the  Revolutionary  war,  where  the  building  he  occupied  is 
still  standing  with  its  contents  the  same  as  used  by  Lafayette  and 
Washington;  the  Pokeepsie  bridge  across  the  Hudson,  two  miles 
long  and  two  hundred  feet  above  the  water;    and  the  Catskill 
mountains,  the  summer  resort  for  New  Yorkers;  and  a  number  of 


"EMPIRE  STATE  EXPRESS."  409 

towns  and  cities.  On  the  east  bank,  we  passed  through  Yonkers, 
about  thirty-five  thousand  population;  Tarry  town,  twenty  thousand; 
Sing  Sing,  where  the  State  penitentiary  is  located,  containing 
between  twelve  and  fourteen  hundred  prisoners,  the  town  having 
about  twelve  thousand  inhabitants;  Peekskill,  twenty  thousand; 
Cold  Springs,  five  thousand;  Fishkill,  twelve  thousand;  Rhinebeck, 
eight  thousand;  city  of  Hudson,  thirty-five  thousand;  and  Albany 
about  fifty  thousand.  The  large  and  magnificent  summer  resi- 
dences of  the  Rockefellers,  Helen  Gould,  Vanderbilts,  et  al,  New 
York's  millionaires  are  also  situated  along  the  bluffs  forming  the 
east  banks  of  this  noted  river.  The  most  noted  residence  is  that 
of  Washington  Irving,  built  in  1656,  which  is  still  intact. 

About  one-half  of  the  distance  from  New  York  to  Albany  the 
road  consists  of  four  tracks,  and  the  balance  of  the  way  there 
are  only  two.  We  made  the  run  going  up,  in  less  than  four  and  a 
half  hours,  arriving  at  the  State  Capital  at  2:25  p.m.  The 
''Empire  State  Express"  is  not  due  in  Albany  from  the  West  till 
7  p.m.,  which  necessitated  our  stopping  over  there  four  hours,  and 
during  this  time,  I  visited  the  State  Capitol  building,  which  is  an 
elaborate  structure,  having  cost  several  millions  of  dollars.  Await- 
ing the  time  of  departure,  number  872  was  run  into  the  round- 
house, examined  and  cleaned,  making  it  ready  for  the  unparalleled 
trip  down  again.  Promptly  at  7  p.m.,  the  engine  was  attached  to 
the  "fastest  train  in  the  world,"  and  we  pulled  out  upon  the  (to 
me)  thrilling  and  eventful  trip.  As  soon  as  we  were  across  the 
bridge  spanning  the  Hudson,  and  out  of  the  yards,  the  throttle 
was  thrown  open,  and  we  began  to  bound  forward,  faster  and 
faster  by  every  turn  of  the  ponderous  wheels,  until  it  seemed  to 
me  that  we  were  not  gliding  along  over  the  earth,  but  were  flying 
through  space.  Buildings  and  other  objects  swept  by  us  in  an 
almost  unrecognizable  mass.  If  a  derailment  should  occur,  there 
would  be  absolutely  no  hope  for  the  human  beings  thus  being 
hurled  along  at  such  tremendous  speed.  A  "slow-down"  was 
made  three  times  during  the  run,  in  order  to  scoop  water,  and 
once  in  passing  through  a  town,  which  were  the.  only  restrictions 
placed  upon  the  regular  momentum  maintained  through  the  jour- 
ney. In  doing  this,  of  course  several  minutes  each  time  were  lost, 
which  made  necessary  an  extra  effort  to  regain  lost  time.     During^ 


410  IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 

some  of  these  spurts,  a  speed  of  a  mile  in  forty-five  seconds  was 
made,  which  is  fast  running,  especially  for  a  * 'tender-foot"  on  an 
engine.  We  fairly  flew  through  the  towns  and  cities  named 
above — through  the  railroad  yards,  over  switches,  and  between 
cars  and  buildings,  around  curves,  and  through  tunnels,  (of  which 
there  are  some  twelve  along  the  route),  making  no  allowances 
whatever  for  such  things,  the  great  desire  being  to  reach  the 
Metropolis  by  10  o'clock,  schedule  time.  This  nerve-trying  speed 
was  kept  up  the  whole  distance,  and  we  rolled  into  the  Grand 
Central  Station  one  minute  ahead  of  time.  The  train  consists 
of  about  seven  coaches,  and  is  the  pride  and  boast  of  New  York. 
No  other  railroad  in  the  world  operates  a  train  this  distance 
without  stopping,  and  especially  at  the  speed  of  the  "Empire 
State  Express."  The  average  speed  maintained  throughout  the 
trip  was  about  forty-eight  miles  per  hour.  This  continued  between 
Salt  Lake  City  and  New  York  would  enable  one  to  make  the  jour- 
ney in  about  fifty-three  hours — a  trifle  over  two  days.  This,  how- 
ever, will  not  be  accomplished  untilfwestern  railroading  is  more 
perfect  than  at  present. 

This  leads  to  a  description  of  the  system  employed  on  the 
New  York  Central.  As  before  stated,  the  road  is  a  double-tracked 
one.  Trains  going  north  keep  on  the  right  track,  and  those  com- 
ing down,  run  on  the  left,  an  arrangement  similar  to  that  adopted  on 
the  double-tracked  street  car  service  in  our  city.  Telegraphing 
is  not  used  in  managing  the  running  of  the  trains;  but  in  lieu 
thereof  v/hat  is  known  as  the  "block  system"  is  in  vogue.  This  con- 
sists of  small  towers  erected  along  the  side  of  the  tracks  at  conven- 
ient distances — about  every  mile  and  a  half  apart.  ^  watchman  is 
placed  in  the  top  of  each  one  of  these  block  houses,  and  by  means 
of  levers  he  controls  an  arm  which  projects  out  from  a  pole  set 
alongside  the  railroad.  These  cross-arms  are  of  different  colors, 
each  of  which  has  a  significant  meaning  to  the  engineer.  If  the 
blue  is  up,  the  train  going  under  it  must  slow  down  and  be  under 
full  control  before  the  next  signal  post  is  reached,  and  if  the  red 
arm  signal  is  here  up,  the  train  cannot  pass  this  point  until  it 
drops— denoting  that  the  train  ahead  had  passed  the  next  signal 
up  the  track.  This  method  prevents  the  trains  from  getting  any 
nearer  together  than  a  mile  or  mile  and  a  half,  and  thus  obviates 


*  ''EMPIRE  STATE  EXPRESS."  411 

collisions — rear-end  collisions,  which  only  can  occur  on  these 
roads.  At  night  the  same  system  is  successfully  operated  by 
different  colored  lights,  and  hence,  as  the  only  obstructions  on  the 
track  can  come  from  trains  running  in  the  same  direction  ahead, 
an  engineer,  can  by  noticing  the  signals,  always  tell  if  the  road  is 
clear  to  a  certain  point.  With  the  "Empire  State  Express"  every- 
thing must  be  out  of  the  way  fifteen  minutes  before  it  is  due. 
This  system  avoids  the  possibility  of  misinterpreting  telegraphic 
orders  and  the  like,  which  usually  causes  the  most  disastrous 
wrecks,  resulting  in  great  loss  of  life  and  property. 

As  stated,  we  slowed  up  three  times  to  scoop  water.  This  is 
accomplished  by  a  tank  some  twelve  hundred  feet  long  and  about 
twenty  inches  wide,  it  being  situated  in  the  centre  of  the  track 
and  filled  with  water.  When  water  is  needed,  and  while  the  engine 
is  passing  over  one  of  these  troughs,  a  scoop,  slanting  in  the 
direction  the  train  is  going,  is  lowered  from  the  tender,  and  the 
speed  of  the  train  forces  the  water  up  this  scoop-pipe  and  drops 
it  over  into  the  tank.  From  three  thousand  five  hundred  to  four 
thousand  gallons  are  thus  taken  up  in  about  one-half  of  a  minute, 
and  the  train  speeds  on  its  way. 

The  tender  once  loaded  with  coal  lasts  the  entire  trip  down 
with  the  "Empire  Express,"  and  in  making  the  round  trip,  about 
three  hundred  miles  in  all,  seven  tons  of  coal  are  used.  The  fire- 
man is  kept  busy  feeding  the  furnace  which  eats  up  the  large 
lumps  of  coal  as  if  they  were  of  some  immaterial  substance.  The 
same  engine  makes  the  trip  every  day — that  is,  the  company  gets 
about  a  three-hundred-mile  trip  each  day  out  of  their  engines; 
but  there  are  two  sets  of  engineers  and  firemen,  who  take  turn 
about  every  other  day.  On  coming  down,  as  going  up,  the  bell 
must  not  be  rung,  nor  the  whistle  blown,  while  traversing  the  dis- 
tance of  fifteen  or  twenty  miles  in  entering  New  York,  thereby 
not  disturbing  the  nerves  of  the  citizens  living  along  the  line. 
In  conclusion,  I  will  say  that  there  is  perhaps  nothing  more  excit- 
ing and  thrilling  than  a  ride  on  a  real,  live  (?),  bounding,  struggling, 
snorting  locomotive,  and  especially  the  one  that  pulls  the  fastest 
and  most  famous  train  in  all  the  world — "The  Empire  State 
Express.'' 


FOR  THE  SALVATION  OF  SOULS. 

A  STORY  IN  TWO  PARTS. 


BY  NEPHI  ANDERSON,  AUTHOR  OF  "ADDED   UPON,"  "a  YOUNG   FOLKS' 
HISTORY  OF  THE   CHURCH,"  ETC. 


Part  Second. 

No  power  or  influence  can  or  ought  to  be  maintained  by  virtue  of 
the  Priesthood,  only  by  persuasion,  by  long  suffering,  by  gentleness,  and 
by  love  unfeigned; 

By  kindness  and  pure  knowledge,  which  shall  greatly  enlarge  the 
soul  without  hypocrisy  and  without  guile. 

Reproving  betimes  with  sharpness,  when  moved  upon  by  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  then  showing  forth  afterwards  an  increase  of  love  towards 
him  whom  thou  hast  reproved,  lest  he  esteem  thee  to  be  his  enemy; 

That  he  may  know  that  thy  faithfulness  is  stronger  than  the  cords 
of  death. — Doc.  and  Cov.  Sec.  121. 

The  stake  superintendency  and  aids  of  the  Young  Men's 
Mutual  Improvement  Associations  met  each  week  in  an  upper  room 
at  the  home  of  the  superintendent.  There  they  talked  over  the 
affairs  of  the  associations  and  planned  for  their  best  interests. 
Their  meetings  began  with  the  singing  of  a  hymn,  then  they  drew 
their  chairs  in  a  circle  and  by  them  knelt  and  offered  up  their 
prayers  to  God.  Reports  of  visits  to  associations  were  given,  sug- 
gestions offered,  and  then  the  next  week's  lesson  was  recited  from 
the  manual.  Sometimes  there  were  special  meetings,  as  was  the 
case  the  evening  when  the  missionary  representing  the  General 


FOR  THE  SALVATION  OF  SOULS.  413 

Board  laid  before  the  officers  his  instructions  to  them  regarding 
the  system  of  local  missionary  work. 

That  evening  the  superintendent  spoke  earnestly  of  the  work 
of  improvement  among  the  young  men  of  Zion.  "Right  in  our 
own  fair  city  the  enemy  of  righteousness  has  planted  another 
stronghold  in  the  shape  of  a  saloon,  whereby  to  bring  our  young 
to  destruction.  I  tell  you,  brethren,  our  responsibility  is  great, 
and  we  have  plenty  of  work  before  us.  I  believe  this  system  of 
quiet,  private  missionary  work  will  result  in  much  good.  Let  us 
take  hold  with  a  will,  put  our  hearts  into  it  as  much  as  we  did 
when  doing  missionary  work  in  the  world,  and  God  will  bless  us 
and  give  us  souls  for  our  reward." 

At  the  next  regular  meeting  it  was  decided  that  each  of  the 
stake  officers  be  given  the  name  of  a  young  man  that  needed  labor- 
ing with.  Seven  names  were  written  on  seven  slips  of  paper  and 
then  distributed  to  the  best  advantage.  The  name  on  one  of  the 
slips  they  all  shrank  from. 

"Brethren,"  said  the  superintendent,  "we  all  appreciate  the 
difficulty  of  this  brother's  case.  I  have  been  thinking  which  of 
us  would  likely  have  the  most  influence  over  him  and  have  con- 
cluded that  Brother  Acton  should  take  this  name." 

So  William  Acton  put  the  slip  of  paper  in  his  pocket,  and  said 
he  would  do  his  best.  Written  on  that  paper  was  the  name  of 
Harrison  Ware. 

From  that  evening  Will  Acton  began  to  study  Harrison  Ware. 
He  knew  he  had  no  easy  task,  so  he  prayed  much  for  assistance. 
Harrison  was  perhaps  five  years  older  than  Will.  They  were  not 
very  intimate,  as  they  lived  in  different  wards,  so  Will  went  out 
of  his  way  to  and  fro  from  his  work  to  step  into  Harrison's  grocery 
store  to  purchase  some  article  and  have  a  chat  with  him. 

By  careful  inquiry  Will  learned  fairly  well  Brother  Ware's 
spiritual  condition.  He  had  nearly  ceased  going  to  meetings. 
During  the  year  past,  he  had  two  credit  marks  on  the  records  of 
the  Seventies'  quorum.  He  had  never  joined  the  Mutual,  though 
he  had  visited  the  meetings  a  number  of  times  shortly  after  the 
missionaries  had  visited  him  last  year.  Then  Will  tried  to  ascer- 
tain where  Harrison's  interest  lay,  and  that  was  no  hard  task. 
Harrison  Ware  was  aspiring  to  be  a  leading  politician  in  his  ward. 


414  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

He  would  rather  talk  politics  than  sell  groceries.  Will  studied 
him  along  this  line,  and  had  many  chats  with  him  upon  political 
principles  and  party  candidates.  In  time,  the  missionary  concluded 
that  the  strong  hand  of  party  power  had  Brother  Ware  in  its  grasp, 
and  was  fast  squeezing  out  of  him  all  interest  for  anything  else. 
Even  his  religion,  for  which  he  had  sacrificed  much,  gave  way  to 
the  demands  of  this  partisanship. 

One  evening.  Will  saw  Brother  Ware's  oldest  son,  a  lad  of 
about  fifteen,  enter  the  corner  saloon.  The  boy  did  not  stay  long, 
but  it  was  enough  to  give  the  missionary  a  chance.  Next  day 
Will  called  and  asked  if  he  could  have  a  talk  with  Brother  Ware. 

"Certainly,  come  right  in,  Brother  Acton,"  and  he  led  the  way 
into  the  office. 

"What  I  wanted  to  tell  you  was  that  I  saw  your  boy  George 
go  into  the  saloon  last  night.  I  thought  as  a  parent  you  would 
like  to  know." 

"George  is  a  little  wild  I  know,  but  I  had  no  idea  that  he  fre- 
quented the  saloon.  I  am  much  obliged  to  you.  Brother  Acton, 
for  letting  me  know.     I  will  speak  to  him  about  it." 

"How  is  it,  does  he  attend  the  Mutual  Improvement  meet- 
ings?" 

"Not  as  he  ought  to.  I  can't  get  him  interested,  and  then, 
there's  Bishop  Wild's  boys,  you  know.  They  lead  him  off  and  you 
can't  expect — " 

"But,  dear  brother,  don't  you  think  a  little  example  from  his 
father  in  that  line  would  help?" 

The  grocer  laughed.  "Well,  perhaps  it  would;  but,  you  see, 
I  haven't  the  time.  Besides,  the  president  of  our  association  is 
a  little  cranky  and — " 

"Look  here,  Brother  Ware,  we're  all  'cranky'  on  some  things, 
even  the  best  of  us  are." 

"Yes;  you're  right  there.  The  best  of  us  are.  I  suppose  you 
heard  President  Blank's  sermon  at  the  Tabernacle  last  Sunday?" 

"Yes;  and  I  saw  you  there.     What  did  you  think  of  it?" 

"It  was  all  bosh,  mere  bosh.  Why,  he  himself  doesn't  prac- 
tice that  doctrine;  and  I  actually  heard  of  an  apostle  the  other 
day—" 

"Well,  I'll  have  to  be  going,"  interrupted  Will,  and  he  left  the 


FOR  THE  SALVATION  OF  SOULS.  415 

store.  A  certain  oppressive  feeling  always  came  over  him  after 
listening  to  such  fault-finding.  It  made  him  miserable,  and  he  did 
not  enjoy  the  experience.  Had  he  not  been  on  a  mission,  he  cer- 
tainly would  have  kept  outside  the  circle  of  such  an  influence. 

"I've  underrated  my  task,"  thought  Will,  as  he  walked  home. 
"Brother  Ware  is  already  far  in  the  dark.  When  a  man  finds  fault 
with  every  officer  of  The  Church  from  the  teacher  on  his  block  up, 
then  T  pity  him.  There  certainly  can't  be  much  sunshine  in  his 
own  life.     Poor  Brother  Ware,  what  can  I  do  to  help  him?" 

Harrison  Ware  did  not  respond  to  the  invitations  to  attend 
the  association  meetings.  Will  thought  he  became  more  bitter  at 
every  talk  he  had  with  him.  In  their  meetings  some  of  the  officers 
reported  some  glowing  successes,  but  Will's  was  not  encouraging. 
He  had  a  mind  to  give  up,  but  his  brethren  would  hot  hear  of  it. 
"The  harder  the  battle,  the  greater  the  prize,"  they  said. 

One  day,  Will  Acton  brought  with  him  an  interesting  account  of 
some  missionary  experiences  in  the  Eastern  States.  Brother  Ware 
received  Will  coldly,  bordering  on  rudeness;  but  the  missionary 
was  not  to  be  daunted.  He  got  out  his  paper  and  showed  him  the 
article. 

"You  spent  over  two  years  in  that  locality,  didn't  you?" 

"Yes." 

"I  thought  you  would  be  interested  in  the  account." 

"Well,  I'm  not  very;"  and  he  went  on  arranging  some  goods 
on  the  shelf. 

They  were  alone  in  the  store,  and  Will  began  reading  the  arti- 
cle aloud.  The  merchant  listened,  and  presently  came  and  sat  on 
the  counter.  As  the  reading  proceeded,  Will  could  see  the  interest 
brighten  in  the  listener's  face.  The  missionary  had  found  a  tender 
spot  upon  which  he  could  make  an  impression,  and  the  discovery 
gave  him  renewed  courage.  He  left  Brother  Ware  looking  over 
the  paper  the  second  time. 

A  few  days  after,  as  Will  called  at  the  grocery  store,  he  was 
greatly  surprised  to  see  the  blinds  down,  and  a  strange  name  in  the 
window  as  assignee.  Harrison  Ware  had  failed.  A  great  pity 
welled  up  in  his  heart.  He  thought  of  Brother  Ware's  three  boys 
and  their  neglected  condition.  (Brother  Ware's  wife  had  died 
four  years  !ago.)    The  grocer  had  lately  been  seen  visiting  the 


416  IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 

establishment  where  the  beautiful  bottles  were  displayed.  And 
now  he  had  failed  in  his  business.  He  was  going  fast  down  the 
hill,  and  the  efforts  of  the  missionary  seemed  to  have  no  effect. 
Will  tried  to  find  the  merchant,  but  seemingly  he  tried  to  avoid 
everybody  as  much  as  possible. 

Some  days  after  the  assignment  Will  called  at  Harrison's 
house  and  found  his  rooms  vacated.  The  neighbors  said  they  had 
all  moved  to  Salt  Lake  City. 

That  same  evening  at  the  officers'  meeting,  the  name  of  Har- 
rison Ware  was  given  up;  but  as  Will  Acton  was  walking  home,  a 
passage  of  scripture  came  to  him  so  suddenly  that  it  somewhat 
startled  him: 

How  think  ye?  If  a  man  have  an  hundred  sheep,  and  one  of  them  be 
gone  astray,  doth  he  not  leave  the  ninety  and  nine,  and  goeth  into  the 
mountains,  and  seeketh  that  which  is  gone  astray? 

And  if  so  be  that  he  find  it,  verily  I  say  unto  you,  he  rejoiceth  more 
of  that  sheep,  than  of  the  ninety  and  nine  which  went  not  astray. 

It  was  enough  for  Will  Acton.  Within  a  few  days,  the  April 
conference  would  convene  in  Salt  Lake,  and  Will  got  a  week  off 
and  attended. 

It  took  two  days  of  search  and  inquiry  to  locate  him.  Then 
he  found  the  small  family  in  a  little,  old,  adobe  house  not  far  from 
the  railroad  station.  The  father  was  not  at  home,  but  the  oldest 
boy  had  taken  charge  of  affairs  and  had  tried  to  arrange  the 
meagre  household  belongings  as  comfortably  as  he  could.  The 
children  seemed  pleased  with  a  face  they  had  seen  at  home. 

It  was  in  the  evening,  and  the  father  soon  came  in.  Of  course 
he  was  surprised  to  see  his  visitor.  Harrison  showed  signs  of  the 
ordeal  through  which  he  was  passing,  and  Will  noted  the  haggard 
expression  in  his  face.  Will  accepted  the  invitation  to  share  the 
simple  evening  meal,  and  then  when  the  boys  had  gone  to  bed  the 
missionary  began  his  work  in  earnest. 

Will  led  Harrison  into  telling  him  about  his  troubles.  Brother 
Ware  was  not  blind  to  the  continued  interest  his  friend  took  in 
him.  Will  could  see  that  Harrison  was  a  struggling  man.  He  felt 
that  the  crisis  in  the  man's  life  had  arrived,  and  that  the  powers 
of  good  and  evil  were  battling  for  the  possession  of  a  soul.    Har- 


FOR  THE  SALVATION  OF  SOULS.  417 

rison  would  make  some  most  bitter  accusations,  then  he  would 
melt  into  a  mildness  bordering  on  tears,  only  to  work  himself  up 
again  into  a  passion  against  his  brethren. 

Elder  Acton  talked  quietly.  He  felt  the  Spirit  of  God  rest- 
ing upon  him  and  it  gave  him  power  over  this  man. 

"Brother  Ware,"  he  said,  "your  father  left  his  native  land  for 
the  Gospel's  sake.  Your  mother  suffered  in  the  early  persecutions 
for  the  same  cause.  I  know  their  one  great  aim  in  passing  through 
these  trials  was  that  their  children  might  be  firmly  established  in 
Zion  and  in  the  faith  of  Christ.  Would  you  be  willing  that  they 
should  come  tonight,  hear  what  you  have  said  and  feel  of  the 
spirit  you  have  manifested? 

"Never  mind  answering,  Brother  Ware.  1  want  to  bring  you 
back  to  your  early  days.  Do  you  believe  that  when  a  servant  of 
God  took  you  down  into  the  waters  of  baptism  and  there  immersed 
you  for  the  remission  of  your  sins,  that  that  was  an  ordinance  of 
any  consequence?  Do  you  think  that  when  the  hands  of  the  elders 
were  placed  upon  your  head  that  you  received  the  Holy  Ghost?" 

"I  know  it." 

"Do  you  believe  that  the  Gospel  is  the  power  of  God  unto 
salvation?" 

"I  have  never  denied  the  Gospel,  and  I  hope  I  never  shall. 
The  Gospel  is  true  enough,  but — " 

"But,  dear  brother,  you  stultify  yourself.  You  say  the  Gos- 
pel is  true,  yet  claim  that  its  ministers  are  evil-designing  men. 
You  claim  a  church  can  exist  pure  whose  every  department  is  con- 
trolled by  wrong-doers.  You  do  not  doubt  the  validity  of  your 
baptism,  or  of  that  of  your  children's,  yet  you  can  not  trust  those 
same  men  with  any  portion  of  earthly  authority.  You  call  in  the 
Priesthood  to  administer  to  you  and  your  family,  to  call  down 
heaven's  blessings  upon  you,  and  you  do  not  question  their  right, 
their  authority;  yet  you  cannot  trust  these  men  in  a  petty  matter 
of  worldly  moment." 

Harrison  had  slowly  dropped  his  head,  and  now  sat  looking  at 
the  table. 

"You  have  a  wife  in  the  other  world.  You  love  her.  You 
were  bound  to  her  for  all  time  and  eternity,  and  it  is  among  your 
fondest  hopes  that  some  day  you  will  clasp  that  wife  again  to 


418  IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 

your  bosom;  that  you  will  call  her  wife,  and  she  will  call  you  hus- 
band. What  would  you  think  should  I  tell  you  that  the  whole 
thing  is  a  delusion  and  a  snare,  and  that  he  who  performed  that 
ceremony,  claiming  power  from  on  high,  was  a  cheat  and  a  rogue? 
Brother  Ware,  you  would  trust  these  men  you  have  so  bitterly 
railed  against  tonight  and  many  other  times,  with  the  most  sacred 
desires  of  your  heart,  trust  them  to  bring  to  you  the  great- 
est gift  God  can  bestow  upon  man,  trust  them  to  perform  for  you 
ordinances  that  will  insure  your  eternal  salvation  and  happiness 
in  the  worlds  to  come — yet,  dear  brother,  you  will  not  grant  them 
the  common  privilege  which  every  American  citizen  claims  of 
expressing  his  opinion  on  a  political  question —  you  will  not  trust 
them  in  the  most  insignificant  of  perishable  worldly  affairs." 

Harrison  did  not  answer,  but  tears  stood  in  the  man's  eyes. 

"You,  Brother  Ware,  have  been  upon  a  mission  as  I  have  also. 
You  have  exercised  the  God-given  powers  of  the  Priesthood,  and 
you  have  rejoiced  in  it.  You  know  it  is  true.  You,  no  doubt,  by 
that  same  divine  authority  brought  souls  into  the  fold  of  Christ 
who  are  now  blessing  your  name  and  memory  for  those  kind  deeds. 
Oh,  those  were  sweet  moments,  Brother  Ware.  Those  were 
blessed  days,  employed  in  the  service  of  the  Master  for  the  salva- 
tion of  souls.  The  memory  of  those  mission  years  comes  to  us 
now  as  a  holy  benediction,  as  a  calm,  soothing  sweetness  distill- 
ing into  our  troubled  souls." 

The  two  men,  as  with  the  same  impulse,  slipped  quietly  onto 
their  knees.  Will  Acton  prayed  aloud.  When  he  had  finished,  he 
looked  at  his  brother  who  did  not  move,  neither  arose  from  his 
position,  and  Will  again  bowed  his  face  into  his  hands  to  pray,  this 
time  inaudibly. 

A  strange  feeling  had  come  over  him.  From  the  joy  of  con- 
version, he  had  relapsed  into  a  feeling  that  his  brother  would  not 
be  completely  won  by  his  labors  alone.  At  this  critical  moment,  he 
felt  the  need  of  other  help,  and  this  help  should  come  from  his 
brother's  missionary  experience,  some  fellow  missionary  perhaps, 
who  would  rivet  together  firmly  the  past  to  the  present.  All  this 
flashed  through  his  mind  in  an  instant,  and  when  he  prayed  again 
it  was  that  God  would  send  him  this  assistance. 

A  light  tap  came  at  the  door  as  the  two  men  arose. 


FOR  THE  SALVATION  OF  SOULS.  419 

"Come  in,"  said  Harrison  after  a  short  pause. 

A  young  woman  came  in  with  a  tray  on  which  steamed  three 
bowls  of  soup.  At  the  sight  of  the  two  men  she  paused  at  the 
door. 

"I — I  beg  your  pardon,"  she  said.  "I  expected  to  find  the 
three  boys  here,  and  I  brought  them  some  soup." 

She  placed  the  tray  on  the  table  and  looked  at  Harrison 
Ware. 

"Brother  Ware!"  she  said.  "Brother  Ware,  is  that  you?  I 
didn't  know  you  lived  here.   Surely,  you  are  Elder  Harrison  Ware?" 

"That  is  my  name;  and  you — to  be  sure,  you  are  Sister  Mar- 
garet Lee.  And  how  are  you?  You  have  changed  some,  but  I 
would  know  you.     Well,  well,  and  what  a  surprise!" 

The  two  shook  hands  warmly.  Will  backed  out  of  the  way 
and  stood  looking  at  them.  Then  he  knew  his  prayer  was  answered 
that  his  re-enforcement  had  come,  and  that  he  could  even  at  that 
moment  retire  from  the  field  assured  of  victory. 

Will  was  introduced,  and  as  he  looked  into  the  clear  eye  and 
open  countenance  of  the  young  woman,  he  saw  character  written 
there.  Another  little  prayer  went  up  from  Will's  heart,  a  prayer 
of  thanksgiving  and  gratitude.  The  three  sat  around  the  table 
and  talked  of  the  past  and  a  new  light  came  into  Harrison's  face 
as  he  recalled  his  missionary  experiences. 

Will  let  the  others  do  most  of  the  talking.  He  listened  and 
enjoyed  their  conversation.  Margaret  said  she  lived  with  a  family 
a  few  doors  away.  She  had  seen  the  three  boys  in  the  yard  a 
number  of  times,  and  had  pitied  their  apparently  homeless  condi- 
tion. Then  Harrison  had  difficulty  in  speaking,  and  there  came  a 
pause  in  the  conversation,  during  which  Will  took  the  three  bowls 
from  the  table  and  put  them  on  the  stove.  Then  when  they  were 
suflaciently  warm,  he  placed  a  bowl  before  each  of  them. 

"The  boys  have  gone  to  bed,  Sister  Lee,  and  it  won't  do  to 
have  the  soup  spoil.     Help  yourselves." 

They  all  laughed  again,  and  began  sipping  the  warm  liquid. 

"This  reminds  me,"  said  Harrison,  "of  a  Christmas  back  in  the 
missionary  field.     Don't  you  remember.  Sister  Lee?" 

0,  yes,  she  remembered. 

"You  see,"  continued  Brother  Ware,  turning  to  Will,  "Sister 


420  IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 

Lee  is  famous  for  making  good  soup,  and  she  became  such  an 
expert  at  it  that  she  actually  served  it  once  for  our  Christmas 
dinner.  Think  of  it,  the  broth  from  a  knuckle  bone  for  a  Christmas 
dinner — nothing  but  the  broth,  remember." 

"Brother  Ware,  we  had  bread  and  butter  with  it.  Tell  the 
straight  of  it,  if  you  please:  and  if  I  remember  rightly,  you  were 
greatly  pleased  with  that  dinner." 

"I  think  it  was  the  best  meal  I  ever  ate;  and  look  here,  here's 
a  coincidence.  There  were  just  three  of  us  sitting  around  a  table 
something  like  this  one.    Yes,  and  we  had  three  bowls — 

One  for  me,  and  one  for  you. 
And  one  for  old  Sister  Hennesey. 

It  ought  to  be  Christmas^now." 

"It  is  Christmas  now,"  exclaimed  Will  Acton,  as  he  gave  the 
table  a  tap  with  his  spoon." 

"How  do  you  make  that  out?" 

"Today  is  the  real  Christmas,  or  rather  the  anniversary  of 
the  birth  of  Christ.  Today  is  the  Sixth  of  April,  which  is  the 
birthday  of  our  Lord  and  Savior  Jesus  Christ." 

Will  arose  in  making  his  little  speech.  The  others  arose 
also;  and  while  they  stood  there  looking  at  each  other,  Harrison 
Ware  said: 

"You  are  right.  Today  is  the  real  Christmas;  and  doubly  real 
it  is  to  me,  for  today  has  Christ  again  been  born  to  me.  Again 
has  his  regenerating  power  been  exercised  in  my  behalf.  I  see  the 
brink  whereon  I  stood,  the  depth  and  awful  darkness  into  which  I 
was  going.  0,  God,  be  praised  for  your  love,  brother,  your  patience 
and  long-suffering;  and  for  you,  dear  sister,  that  have  come 
again  into  my  life  with  your  smile  and  your  sunshine  from  heaven. 
I  am  so  weak.  You  must  both  help  me.  You  must  not  desert 
me.  0,  God,  forgive  my  sins  and  help  me  to  overcome  them. 
Bless  my  brother,  bless  my  sister,  bless  us  all  in  the  name  of  Jesus. 
Amen." 

And  the  other  two  said  fervently,  "Amen." 


COLLECTION  OF  ANECDOTES. 


THERE  IS  A  LIFE  BEYOND. 

BY   SAMUEL  L.   ADAMS. 


The  object  I  have  in  presenting  the  following  narrative  to  the 
readers  of  the  Era  is  to  add  one  more  testimony,  to  the  many 
which  God  has  revealed,  that  there  is  a  resurrection  and  a  life  beyond. 
The  Lord  God  appeared  to  Adam,  in  Eden;  to  Abraham,  on  the 
plains  of  Mamre;  to  Moses;  and  at  the  baptism  of  Christ,  let  his 
approving  voice  attest  the  divinity  of  the  Savior.  Moses  and  Elias 
appeared  on  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration;  and  w^e  read  of  proph- 
ets standing  in  the  presence  of  John  on  the  Isle  of  Patmos.  The 
angel  Moroni  appeared  in  this  generation;  and,  further,  the  Father 
and  the  Son  appeared  to  the  Prophet  Joseph  Smith,  showing  that 
they  still  live,  yesterday,  today  and  forever! 

Time  after  time,  the  angel  appeared  until  the  plates  containing 
the  record  of  the  Book  of  Mormon  had  been  translated  and  brought 
forth,  and  shown  to  the  natural  eyes  of  the  witnesses.  Then  there 
was  the  vision  in  the  Kirtland  Temple,  followed  later,  and  to  this 
day,  by  consoling  manifestations  to  thousands  of  the  children  of 
God  who  have  bowed  in  obedience  to  his  commands — such  as 
tongues,  interpretations,  prophecy,  visions,  healings,  ministering  of 
angels, — all  for  the  comfort  of  the  Saints,  and  to  establish  them 
in  the  truth. 

I  will  now  relate  what  occurred  in  the  year  1865,  as  I  recently 
wrote  in  a  letter  to  my  grandson,  Walter  Adams,  now  on  a  mission 
in  Germany: 

"Dear  Grandson: — In  June,  1865,  an  epidemic  of  diphtheria 


422  IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 

raged  in  St.  George.  Two  of  our  children,  John  H.  and  Minerva 
Adams  were  attacked,  and  died  within  twenty-four  hours.  Our 
home  was  filled  with  gloom.  One  of  the  most  devoted  mothers 
mourned  as  only  mothers  can,  and,  like  Rachel  of  old,  would  not  be 
comforted.  Days  and  nights  passed  without  sleep  or  comfort,  and 
the  marks  of  suffering  began  visibly  to  affect  her  mind.  The 
neighbors  remarked  how  miserable  was  her  life.  Our  neighbor. 
Apostle  Erastus  Snow,  came  to  our  home  occasionally  to  speak  a 
word  of  comfort  and  try  to  change  the  trend  of  despair.  Seeing 
the  condition  of  things,  he  said: 

"  'Sister  Emma,  you  must  desist  from  this  course,  or  these 
little  children  will  soon  have  no  mother.  Since  the  Lord  has  seen 
proper  to  deprive  you  of  the  company  of  two,  would  it  not  be 
wiser  and  better  on  your  part  to  make  the  best,  trying  to  care  for 
the  remaining  ones?' 

"With  this,  she  burst  forth  in  tears  and  said,  *0,  that  God 
would  only  lighten  my  heart  with  the  knowledge  of  where  my 
children  are;  or.  if  any  one  has  care  of  them!  To  me,  they  are 
gone,  I  see  them  in  my  mind  in  a  fathomless  abyss,  from  whence 
they  may  never  return  to  me!' 

"She  then  sank  in  despair;  whereupon  the  apostle  made  the 
following  prophetic  utterance: 

"  'Sister  Emma,  I  wish  you  to  desist  from  encouraging  these 
despondent  feelings,  and  rely  upon  God,  the  Father;  and  if  you 
will  do  so,  God  our  Father  shall  give  you  a  witness  of  where  your 
children  are  and  by  whom  taken  care  of.' 

"This  promise  was  made  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  and  while 
I  was  present,  and  was  afterwards  made  use  of  by  me  to  inspire 
her  in  the  belief  of  its  fulfillment,  when  moments  of  despair  came 
over  her.  Four  or  five  weeks  passed;  her  nerves  had  quieted 
down  to  a  great  extent,  and  she  continued  in  the  blessed  task  of 
caring  for  the  little  ones  left  her. 

"It  was  a  day  late  in  July  or  early  in  August.  The  sun  had 
set.  The  mother  said  to  her  eldest  daughter,  twelve  or  thirteen 
years  of  age: 

"  'Elenor,  go  to  the  bed-room  and  get  me  Ettie's  night-dress.' 
The  girl  obeyed,  starting  through  the  dining  room  from  the  east 
portico  where  her  mother  sat. 


COLLECTION  OF  ANECDOTES.  423 

"No  sooner  had  the  child  pushed  open  the  bed-room  door  than 
she  stood  transfixed,  gazing  upon  one  of  the  loveliest  sights  ever 
beheld  by  mortal  eyes.  It  was  a  lady  dressed  in  white,  with  dark 
folds  of  hair  hanging  over  her  shoulders.  She  had  a  pleasant, 
happy  countenance,  which  smiled  upon  the  girl,  and  she  bore  two 
children  in  her  arms.  Fear  fled  from  the  little  girl,  who  continued 
to  look  until  her  mind  was  satisfied.  She  identified  two  of  the 
children;  she  had  nursed  and  cared  for  one  of  them  nearly  two 
years,  but  he  was  standing,  holding  to  the  skirts  of  the  young 
lady — that  was  John— the  other  which  she  recognized  was  on  the 
left  arm,  and  this  one  she  had  nursed  for  a  few  months  only — this 
was  Minerva.  But  there  was  still  another  little  girl  which  she 
describes  as  a  little  one  twelve  or  thirteen  months  old,  her  age  and 
face  she  could  not  comprehend  while  she  stood  there  trying  to 
discover  who  it  was.     The  vision  presently  passed  away. 

"Returning  to  her  mother  in  a  very  excited  condition,  she 
exclaimed :  'Mother,  I  know  you  will  not  believe  me !  I  cannot 
tell  what  has  happened!'  She  continued  in  this  way  until  about 
nine  o'clock  next  morning,  when,  to  our  great  joy,  she  related  the 
foregoing  facts.  When  she  had  spoken  of  John  and  Minerva,  she 
asked,  'Who  was  the  little  girl  that  appeared  to  be  twelve  or 
thirteen  months  old?'  .  We  then  told  her  it  was  her  twin  sister 
who  died  at  the  age  of  thirteen  months.  She  described  her  dress, 
even  mentioning  the  narrow  satin  ribbon  tied  to  her  little  shoes, 
so  that  mother  could  not  fail  to  know  that  it  was  her  darling 
Emma. 

"The  foregoing  was  no  dream ;  it  was  an  open  vision  given  to 
one  whose  young  mind  was  not  capable  of  concocting  stories  of 
that  kind.  Besides,  she  had  never  seen  the  young  lady  who  thus 
appeared  befor  her,  but  she  told  her  story  of  description  so  plainly 
that  her  mother  knew  who  she  was. 

"To  complete  the  foregoing,  my  wife  had  a  dream  some  nights 
afterwards.  She  awoke  me  saying:  'My  mother  has  just  left  me. 
My  dream  is  so  real  that  I  feel  she  was  in  the  room  with  me.  0, 
she  has  given  me  so  much  comfort!  I  asked  her  if  she  knew 
where  my  children  were,  and  she  replied,  'Yes,  Ellen  Emma  has 
charge  of  your  children.  You  know  she  is  one  of  your  faith,  and 
that  people  are  all  happy  together.'    'Well,  mother,  can't  you  go 


424  IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 

and  mingle  with  Ellen  Emma  and  our  people?'  I  asked.  She  replied, 
'Not  yet;  the  Lord  will  open  a  way  during  your  life  time,  by  which 
I  can  be  admitted  to  that  class  of  people,  for  I  believe  as  they  do, 
and  wish  to  be  one  of  them." 

"Thus  ended  the  vision  and  also  the  dream  which  brought 
peace,  joy  and  comfort  to  our  home  in  those  days  of  bereavement, 
trial  and  distress.  Now,  Walter,  the  young  lady  was  your  grand- 
ma's niece,  through  whom  your  grandma  received  the  Gospel,  and 
she  was  laid  away  just  as  your  Aunt  Elenor  described  her.  May 
God  grant  you  a  confirming  testimony  of  the  foregoing,  is  the 
prayer  of  your  grandsire, 

"Samuel  L.  Adams" 


MEMORIES  OF  THE  PAST— REFLECTIONS  ON  THE  FALL  OF 

NAUVOO. 

BY   HON.   JESSE  N.   SMITH. 


Some  years  ago,  when  crossing  the  Atlantic,  the  writer  met 
with  an  incident  which  awakened  what  to  him  were  interesting 
reflections.  The  ocean  voyage  had  produced  the  usual  efl^ect  upon 
the  passengers;  being  brought  face  to  face  with  the  grand  and  awe- 
inspiring  ocean,  all  were  more  or  less  lifted  out  of  the  narrow 
grooves  of  creed  and  party.  Each  must  feel  his  insignificance, 
and  also  his  dependence  upon  the  care  and  providence  of  the  great 
Creator. 

We  had  on  board  a  young  Illinoisan  who  seemed  to  conceal  his 
identity,  while  his  avowed  object  in  going  abroad  was  to  help  to 
free  Ireland  from  her  connection  with  the  government  of  Great 
Britain.  He  was  in  short  a  Fenian.  Thoughts  of  Robert  Emmett 
immediately  occurred  to  me,  as  this  man  was  handsome  and  well- 
spoken.  One  morning  he  singled  me  out  on  the  deck  and  asked 
the  favor  of  some  conversation.  Withdrawing  a  little  apart  he 
said:  "How  do  you  'Mormons'  feel  toward  us  Illinoisans  for  driv- 
ing you  out  of  our  state  in  1846?"  Though  taken  somewhat  by 
surprise,  the  question  opened  a  subject  of  great  interest  to  me.    I 


COLLECTION  OF  ANECDOTES.  .  425 

replied  that  I  could  not  undertake  to  answer  for  the  "Mormon" 
people,  but  speaking  for  myself,  I  felt  that  a  grievous  wrong  was 
committed,  a  wrong  so  great  that  I  could  not  describe  its  scope  or 
consequences,  a  wrong  for  which  no  reparation  had  ever  been  pro- 
posed or  attemped,  so  great  as  to  be  beyond  the  power  of  man  to 
condone  or  palliate,  and  must  therefore  be  left  in  the  hands  of 
God. 

He  distinctly  disclaimed  all  responsibility  in  the  matter,  urging 
for  himself  that  at  that  time  he  was  so  young  that  he  could  have 
no  lot  nor  part  in  such  proceedings,  and  making  the  same  claim  for 
those  then  in  power  throughout  the  state,  and  maintaining  the 
Ingersoll  doctrine,  that  the  children  are  not  responsibe  for  the  sins 
of  their  fathers:  this,  so  far  as  the  moral  responsibility  was  con- 
cerned. But  he  did  not  deny  that  the  state  was  responsible  to  the 
"Mormons"  for  pecuniary  damages. 

The  conversation  ended,  but  in  reflecting  upon  the  subject,  I 
could  see  no  sufficient  reason  for  discarding  the  scriptural  doctrine 
that  God  will  remember  the  sins  of  the  Fathers  against  the 
children  unto  the  third  and  fourth  generations  of  them  that  hate 
him.  Of  one  thing  I  was  fully  assured,  the  good  actions  of  par- 
ents descend  upon  their  children  like  a  benediction. 

Mr.  Gushing  had  just  negotiated  the  Alabama  Claims  Treaty 
by  which  Great  Britain  paid  to  citizens  of  the  United  States,  fifteen 
millions  of  dollars  in  damages  done  to  merchants  and  others  who 
lost  ships  on  the  high  seas  through  the  depredations  of  the 
Alabama  and  other  confederate  cruisers.  But  Mr.  Gushing  was 
pleading  the  cause  of  the  rich  who  no  doubt  furnished  money  to 
help  the  case  along.  Whoever  interested  himself  for  the  poor 
and  the  unpopular?  The  mind  reverts  to  the  good  Savior  of  the 
world,  who  raised  up  from  death  the  son  of  the  widow  of  Nain  and 
sent  him  home  to  help  his  mother.  But  who  of  the  great  and 
noble  of  earth  have  interested  themselves  for  the  suffering  Latter- 
day  Saints?  One  only,  so  far  as  I  call  to  mind,  the  manly,  the 
noble  Thomas  L.  Kane,  whose  description  of  the  exodus  from 
Nauvoo  will  remain  a  lasting  monument  to  his  memory.  Where 
were  the  other  great  men,  statesmen  and  philanthropists?  The 
tender-hearted  Lincoln  who  lived  in  Springfield,  Illinois,  in  the 
immediate  neighborhood  where  Brockman's  mob  forces  were  mus- 


426  IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 

tered,  organized,  armed  and  equipped  for  their  expedition — why 
was  Lincoln's  voice  not  heard  in  opposition  to  these  outrageous 
and  lawless  proceedings? 

My  mother,  with  her  two  children  left  the  doomed  city  of 
Nauvoo  a  few  months  before  the  final  tragedy,  but  we  were  not 
so  far  away  but  we  could  hear  the  cannon  shots  during  the  three 
days  of  the  final  struggle.  Shortly  after,  there  came  a  trusted 
man  with  a  team  from  Council  Bluffs  to  take  us  on. 

We  divided  our  scanty  belongings  once  more,  (they  had  been 
divided  before,)  taking  only  the  things  most  needed;  we  gladly 
turned  our  faces  westward,  to  follow  the  Twelve  into  the  wilder- 
ness, "seeking  the  phantom  of  another  home." 

We  soon  joined  the  fugitives  from  the  battle,  for  whom  teams 
had  also  come  from  the  Bluffs.  They  were  all  more  or  less  enfeebled 
through  want  and  exposure;  many  had  ague,  and  some  of  the 
men  were  suffering  with  gunshot-wounds  received  in  the  battle; 
they  had  no  medicines,  no  comforts  for  the  sick.  In  the  solemn 
stillness  of  the  night,  I  heard  a  man  very  earnestly  pray  for  death; 
his  wife  succumbed  but  a  few  days  before,  and  he  was  very  weak. 
His  prayer  was  not  immediately  answered,  he  lived  to  be  very 
useful  and  to  raise  an  honorable  family  in  the  valley.  They  related 
the  miracle  of  the  quails  which  came  in  great  numbers  to  their 
starving  camp,  and  were  picked  up  living  by  old  and  young.  I 
listened  closely  to  their  recital  of  the  incidents  of  the  battle,  of 
the  good  conduct  of  Esquire  Wells,  the  bravery  of  William  Cutler, 
John  Gheen  and  Charles  Lambert,  and  the  heroism  of  Captain 
Anderson,  who  fell. 


A  BROTHER'S  DEFINITION  OF  GROSS  DARKNESS. 

BY   C.   L.   WALKER. 


During  the  early  40's  Apostle  Parley  P.  Pratt  deemed  it  wis- 
dom to  inaugurate  some  out-door  or  street  preaching  in  a  rather 
aristocratic  and  populous  district  of  the  Manchester  Conference. 


COLLECTION  OF  ANECDOTES.  427 

If  I  remember  rightly,  Brother  Peter  S was  appointed  to  hold 

meetings  in  this  district!     Brother  S was  zealous  for  the 

spread  of  the  Gospel,  though  but  a  novice  in  Biblical  lore,  and  by 
trade  a  salesman  in  a  small-ware  shop  where  spool-thread,  cotton 
balls,  buttons,  etc.,  were  sold  by  the  gross  or  otherwise.     On  a 

bright  Sunday  morning  in  June  Brother  S ,  armed  with  his 

Bible  and  hymn  book,  sallied  out  to  fill  his  first  appointment  on 
Oxford  Road,  in  sight  of  All  Saints  Church.  He  got  along  fairly 
well  with  the  opening  exercises;  then  came  the  trying  ordeal  of 
preaching  to  the  motley  crowd  that  had  gathered  around  him  dur- 
ing the  singing.  With  a  deep  sense  of  humility  before  God,  he 
opened  his  pocket  Bible  and  took  for  his  text  Isaiah  60:  2,  laying 
particular  stress  and  emphasis  upon  the  sentence,  "darkness  shall 
cover  the  earth,  and  gross  darkness  the  people."  He  had  hardly 
closed  his  Bible  when  a  pompous  local  preacher  interrupted  him, 
and  in  a  sarcastic  manner,,  said:  "Can  the  deluded  'Mormon' 
tell  us  what  gross  darkness  means  ?" 

Brother  S was  nonplused  for  a  moment;  then  like  a  flash, 

his  business  transactions  over  the  counter  came  to  his  aid:   "Yes," 

replied  Brother  S ,   "anybody  knows  that  a  gross  is  twelve 

dozen;  therefore  gross  darkness  means  that  the  minds  of  the  peo- 
ple are  one  hundred  and  forty-four  times  darker  than  the  earth." 

Shouts  of  laughter  and  jeers  went  forth  from  the  crowd  at 
the  expense  of  the  local  divine,  who  hastily  disentangled  himself 
from  the  by-standers,  humiliated  and  crestfallen,  beating  a  hasty 
retreat  down  Oxford  Road,  a  much  wiser  man  as  to  what  gross 
darkness  meant,  at  least  from  the  standpoint  of  Brother  S . 


BE  NOT  DISCOURAGED. 

BY  PRESIDENT  W.  AV.  CLUFF,  OF  THE  SUMMIT  STAKE  OF  ZION. 


When  young  Elders  are  sent  on  missions  and  meet  with  oppo- 
sition, prejudice  and  indifference,  so  general  in  the  world,  they 
often  feel  more  or  less  discouraged.  They  often  travel  days  and 
weeks  without  apparently  having  made  a  single  convert;  are 
refused  a  night's  lodging,  or  even  a  meal  of  victuals,  and  are  pos- 
sibly reviled  and  threatened  with  violence.  Under  these  circum- 
stances, they  are  sometimes  inclined  to  feel  that  their  labors  are  in 
vain.  They  should  remember,  however,  that  Christ  met  with  simi- 
lar difficulties  and  discouragements,  yet  he  said  to  his  disciples: 
"I  say  unto  you,  that  likewise  joy  shall  be  in  heaven  over  one  sin- 
ner that  repenteth,  more  than  over  ninety  and  nine  just  persons, 
which  need  no  repentance.  Likewise  I  say  unto  you,  there  is  joy 
in  the  presence  of  the  angels  of  God  over  one  sinner  that  repent- 
eth"; and  his  apostle,  James,  admonishes  the  Saints:  "Let  him  know, 
that  he  which  converteth  the  sinner  from  the  error  of  his  way 
shall  save  a  soul  from  death,  and  shall  hide  a  multitude  of  sins." 

The  labors  of  an  elder  who  diligently  bears  a  faithful  testi- 
mony, warning  the  people  to  repent,  will  in  time  yield  fruit. 
"Cast  thy  bread  upon  the  waters:  for  thou  shalt  find  it  after 
many  days."  I  call  to  mind  an  instance  which  proves  the  truth  of 
the  above  saying,  and  which  came  under  my  own  observation 
while  laboring  in  the  Scandinavian  Mission,  thirty-eight  years  ago. 

A  young  elder,  weary  and  foot-sore,  called  at  the  humble  cot- 
tage of  a  lowly  peasant  and  asked  for  a  drink  of  water.  He  met 
with  a  kind,  hospitable  reception  from  the  honest  man  and  his 
wife;  the  elder  preached  the  Gospel,  and  bore  his  testimony  to  the 
unassuming   occupants  of  that   simple   cottage;  and,  taking  his 


BE  NOT  DISCOURAGED.  429 

departure,  left  some  tracts,  which  he  told  them  would  more  fully 
and  clearly  explain  the  principles  of  the  doctrine  of  Christ. 

Months  after  this,  another  elder  by  chance  called  at  the 
same  peasant's  home.  On  learning  that  the  stranger  was  an 
elder  of  The  Church,  the  man  said:  "I  have  been  praying  to  the 
Lord  that  he  might  send  one  of  his  inspired  servants  to  our  humble 
home,  as  myself  and  wife  believe  in  the  truth  of  the  Gospel  as  set 
forth  in  some  pamphlets  left  with  us  some  months  ago  by  a  'Mor- 
mon' missionary,  and  we  wish  to  be  baptized  and  become  members 
of  The  Church."  And  so  this  second  elder  had  the  pleasure  of 
baptizing  that  man  and  his  wife,  both  of  whom  proved  faithful  to 
the  covenants  which  they  then  made.  Thus  the  "bread  cast  upon 
the  waters"  by  that  foot-sore  and  half  discouraged,  humble  ser- 
vant of  the  Lord,  who  first  bore  his  testimony  to  those  honest 
people,  was  found  by  his  successor,  and  the  first  elder  really  filled 
an  important  mission,  even  though  he  himself  never  baptized  a 
single  person.  That  he  did  a  noble  work,  the  following  results  will 
prove.  This  family  consisting  of  father,  mother  and  several  sons 
and  daughters,  all  gathered  to  Zion,  and  have  proved  faithful  Lat- 
ter-day Saints.  The  father  and  mother  enjoyed  the  privilege 
of  officiating  in  the  house  of  the  Lord  for  their  progenitors  and 
relatives  for  several  generations  back;  thus  conferring  the  bless- 
ings of  the  Gospel  upon  hundreds  of  the  children  of  men.  At  a 
ripe  old  age,  this  worthy  father  and  mother  died  in  full  faith  and 
in  the  hope  of  a  glorious  resurrection,  surrounded  by  their  sons 
and  daughters  and  numerous  grandchildren  and  friends,  loved  and 
respected  by  all. 

Three  of  their  sons  and  several  of  their  grandsons  have  filled 
honorable  missions  to  the  nations  of  the  earth,  and  were  the  means 
of  bringing  many  to  a  knowledge  of  the  Gospel.  Thus  we  see 
that  the  seed  sowed  by  that  servant  of  the  Lord  who  first  visited 
and  bore  testimony  to  that  family,  thirty-eight  years  ago  in  far  off 
Denmark,  has  born  fruit  an  hundred,  yea,  possibly  a  thousand  fold, 
in  the  redemption  and  salvation  of  the  children  of  our  Heavenly 
Father. 

Another  very  remarkable  case  showing  the  mighty  and  far- 
reaching  results  of  the  labors  of  the  elders  in  preaching  the  Gos- 
pel of  repentance  to  the  nations  of  the  earth,  is  the   following: 


430  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

President  George  Q.  Cannon,  when  on  his  first  mission  to  the  Sand- 
wich Islands,  in  1850-4,  baptized  as  one  of  the  first  fruits  of  his 
labors  on  these  islands,  an  intelligent  and  highly  educated  native 
Hawaiian,  who  was  a  descendant  of  one ,  of  the  old  prominent 
chiefs  families  of  that  race  of  people.  This  prominent  Hawaiian  was 
among  the  few  of  his  people  ordained  to  the  oflSce  of  elder, 
and  he  labored  efficiently  as  a  missionary,  baptizing  hundreds  of 
his  countrymen.  He  was  the  first  of  his  race  who  came  to  Zion.  He 
was  here  at  the  dedication  of  the  Logan  temple.  In  that  holy 
place,  Napela,  this  descendant  of  the  Hawaiian  chiefs,  was  bap- 
tized for  many  of  his  progenitors  in  direct  line  of  father  and  son. 
He  thus  carried  back  the  blessings  of  the  Gospel  to  his  kindred 
and  people  to  near  the  time  when  they  separated  from  their  Ne- 
phite  forefathers  on  the  continent  of  South  America,  when  they 
built  ships  and  sought  to  sail  up  the  north-west  coast,  to  seek  a 
home  in  the  north  country,  and  by  the  trade  winds  were  drifted  to 
and  landed  on  those  beautiful  islands  in  the  great  Pacific  Ocean. 

Now,  with  the  knowledge  the  Latter-day  Saints  have  of  the 
redemption  and  salvation  for  the  living  and  the  dead,  it  will  easily 
be  seen,  in  this  case,  that  the  baptizing  of  Napela,  by  President 
George  Q.  Cannon,  resulted  in  far-reaching  benefits  to  a  large 
number  of  Hawaiian  families  who  will  secure  redemption  through 
this  act  and  the  labors  of  Napela.  The  number  thus  benefited  is 
almost  beyond  calculation,  yet  all  a  direct  result  of  the  conversion 
and  baptism  of  Napela  by  President  Cannon. 

With  this  understanding  of  the  effect  and  vast  results  from 
the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  by  our  elders,  what  should  discour- 
age them  or  lead  any  to  feel  that  the  time  and  labor  they  spend 
on  missions  is  so  much  of  their  lives  spent  for  naught?  The 
grand  and  glorious  results  accruing  should  convince  our  young 
elders  that  their  labors  are  full  of  encouragement.  They  have 
no  cause  ever  to  be  discouraged. 


A  TRIP  SOUTH  WITH  PRESIDENT  YOUNG 

IN  1870. 


BY    C.   R.   SAVAGE. 


III. 

It  was  the  intention  of  President  Young  to  go  to  the  San 
Francisco  mountains,  on  this  trip.  This  district  had  been  repre- 
sented as  a  paradise  for  settlers,  with  plenty  of  soil,  timber,  water, 
and  all  the  elements  to  make  an  elysium;  but  by  the  time  the 
Colorado  was  reached,  the  prospect  of  finding  such  a  goal  seemed 
very  remote.  Some  one  had  told  him  of  the  distance,  the  bad 
roads,  the  lack  of  water  and  feed,  so  that  his  ambition  to  go 
farther  on  seemed  to  wane.  Then,  again,  we  were  not  the  com- 
pany to  make  such  a  trip,  we  were  too  many,  and  were  short  of 
supplies.  I  happened  to  be  walking  with  him  on  a  ridge  whither 
he  had  gone  to  survey  the  country;  all  at  once,  he  stopped, 
planted  his  walking-stick  into  the  sand  with  the  remark,  "This  is 
a  God-forsaken  country,  I  am  going  north."  This  was  all  he  said; 
then  the  word  passed  that  we  had  reached  the  most  southern 
point  on  the  trip.     Our  eyes  would  hereafter  be  turned  north. 

Another  of  the  objects  of  this  trip  was  to  look  over  the 
Muddy  settlements,  and  into  a  project  that  had  been  elaborated, 
which  was  the  founding  of  a  city  where  we  were  located,  to  be 
called  Montezuma.  The  spot  selected  was  the  broad,  open,  sandy 
bench  north  of  the  Colorado.  The  water  supply  was  to  be  taken 
from  the  Virgen  river,  six  miles  from  the  junction,  so  as  to  be 
brought  out  upon  the  upper  part  of  the  bench.  This  place  today 
is  a  kind  of  wonderland  covered  with  thousands  of  curiously 
formed  volcanic  pebbles;   there  are  also  some  pools  of  water  of 


432  IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 

unknown  depth,  where  the  water  rises  and  falls  without  percepti- 
ble escape. 

Another  proposition  was  to  have  light  draught-steamers  come 
up  the  river  from  Call's  Landing,  with  goods  for  the  settlers  in 
southern  Utah,  thus  securing  for  Utah  products  an  outlet  to  the 
sea  via  the  Colorado  river,  and  the  Gulf  of  California. 

A  lone  settler.  Brother  Asay,  from  Trenton,  New  Jersey,  was 
located  in  a  wattled  house,  made  of  willows  and  daubed  with  mud. 
It  was  a  house  without  a  nail  in  it;  he  was  there  with  his  wife  and 
eleven  sons,  his  vocation  being  to  catch  fish  for  the  settlers,  and 
to  run  the  ferry  boat  which  had  been  made  at  a  big  cost  to 
accommodate  the  President's  company,  and  other  travel.  A  small 
patch  of  sandy  meadow  land,  situated  near  the  mansion,  would 
have  supplied  feed  for  our  animals,  if  Brother  Asay's  ox-team  had 
not  previously  grazed  upon  it  for  two  weeks,  but  it  was  barren 
now.  No  other  spot  near  by  offered  feed  for  the  animals;  what 
the  citizens  of  Montezuma  would  have  to  do  to  obtain  grazing,  I 
will  leave  to  the  imagination  of  my  readers. 

As  a  souvenir  of  my  visit,  I  took  views  of  the  party  on  the 
river  bank.  With  three  of  Brother  Asay's  boys,  I  traveled  through 
■deep  sand  to  the  mouth  of  the  Black  canyon,  eight  miles  distant. 
It  was  a  very  difficult  trip.  We  tried  to  return  by  following  the 
bank  of  the  Colorado,  and  were  surprised  to  find  that  the  river 
runs  over  veins  of  copper  ore  for  miles.  In  talking  with  the  boys, 
I  learned  that  five  kinds  of  fish  inhabited  the  river — salmon, 
hunchbacks,  suckers,  white-fish  and  chub. 

After  my  return,  the  party  broke  camp  and.  returned  to  St. 
Thomas,  where  meetings  were  held,  all  the  citizens  as  well  as  the 
Indians  being  out  in  full  force.  These  Indians  would  work  a 
whole  day  for  a  yard  of  muslin;  they  were  a  poor,  low-down, 
gambling  race.  Such  were  the  neighbors  of  the  "Mormon" 
pioneers  of  the  Muddy  valley. 

I  took  particular  notice  that  President  Young  had  very  little 
to  say  during  his  stay  in  that  region;  not  a  word  about  Montezuma, 
about  steamers,  about  San  Francisco  mountains,  nor  any  other 
project.  He  left  the  preaching  to  the  rank  and  file  of  the  com- 
pany. The  faith,  perseverance,  and  indomitable  will  of  the  settlers, 
were  grand;   they  performed  marvelous  works  under  such  condi- 


A  TRIP  SOUTH  WITH  PRESIDENT  YOUNG.  433 

tions.  The  wind  was  so  severe  that  piles  of  dry  sand  could  be 
seen  blown  up  several  feet  around  the  houses,  but  the  soil  in  the 
bottoms  near  by  was  very  rich,  and  the  prospects  for  crops  were 
good. 

We  passed  through  Overton  on  our  way  up  the  valley,  reach- 
ing St.  Joseph's  twelve  miles  from  St.  Thomas,  where  we  remained 
over  night. 

Our  next  stopping  place  was  West  Point,  the  most  northern 
settlement  in  the  valley.  Here  our  reception  was  more  enthusiastic. 
This  place  is  colder  than  St.  Thomas,  and  for  the  first  time  for 
several  days  we  enjoyed  the  luxury  of  having  milk  and  butter. 
There  was  a  very  fine  tract  of  farming  land  in  close  proximity. 
It  was  during  our  stay  there  that  Brother  Gibbon,  one  of  our  party, 
addressed  the  Indians  in  their  own  language.  It  was  quite  amus- 
ing to  see  the  effect  of  his  oration  upon  this  motley  crowd.  A 
very  strange  event  happened  while  we  were  there;  it  was  the 
arrival  of  a  lone  camel  into  the  place.  The  poor  brute  was"  very 
hungry  and  desolate.  Brother  John  W.  Young  took  possession  of 
the  creature,  and  sent  him  north  to  help  out  his  menagerie  in  Salt 
Lake  City.  Who  owned  him,  or  where  he  came  from,  was  one  of  the 
unsolved  mysteries  of  our  trip.  I  remember  hearing  a  few  years 
prior  to  this  time  that  some  person  had  brought  a  number  of 
these  animals  into  Arizona  as  beasts,  of  burden.  The  young  man 
who  took  the  camel  to  Salt  Lake  had  a  terrible  experience.  Every 
animal  that  saw  him  on  the  road  became  frightened  and  ran  away, 
compelling  him  to  travel  in  the  night. 

In  going  to  the  Colorado,  we  had  followed  down  the  Virgen 
River  to  be  near  water.  It  was  now  spring-time,  and  the  President 
decided  to  return  by  the  desert  road  which  is  shorter,  although  in 
summer  it  is  unsafe.  At  7  a.m.,  March  23,  we  bade  goodby  to 
our  friends  at  West  Point,  and  to  the  brave  settlers  on  the  Muddy. 

No  people  could  do  more  than  they  had  done  to  show  their 
loyalty,  love,  and  veneration  for  the  "old  chief"  as  they  called  the 
President;  they  ministered  to  the  needs  of  the  party  with  the 
best  they  had.  They  were  a  long  distance  from  supplies,  and  were 
short  of  many  necessities,  but  no  one  grumbled;  they  had  been 
called  there,  and  were  going  to  stay  until  released.  They  were 
going  to  "stick  to  the  rack,"  hay  or  no  hay.     The  President  said 


434  IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 

but  little  of  what  he  thought,  he  read  the  conditions  and  con- 
tinued thinking. 

When  well  out  upon  the  desert,  we  met  a  courier  who  brought 
letters  and  papers  for  the  company.  Copies  of  the  Keepapitchinin, 
published  by  George  Taylor,  son  of  the  late  President  Taylor, 
caused  great  merriment.  It  was  like  a  breath  of  sunny  spring  to 
get  news  from  home. 

The  letters  having  been  read,  and  the  contents  noted,  we 
toiled  on  to  the  Cocyop  Wash,  a  distance  of  thirty-five  miles  from 
West  Point.  Water  was  found  in  holes  in  the  rocks,  the  dried  up 
cacti  wood  serving  as  our  fuel;  not  a  blade  of  grass  was  to  be 
seen,  nothing  but  prickly  shrubs,  pebbles,  and  sand  all  around  us. 

Before  reaching  our  camping  place,  we  passed  a  pile  of 
rocks,  a  kind  of  mound,  which  covered  the  bodies  of  old  Brother 
Davidson,  wife  and  boy,  who  had  tried  to  cross  the  desert  in  the 
hot  season  but  out  of  lack  of  water  had  perished  of  thirst ;  their 
friends  informed  them  of  the  risk  they  were  taking,  but  they 
heeded  not  that  advice.  Their  lonely  grave  was  only  two  and  a 
half  miles  from  the  Virgen  river,  but  they  had  become  bewildered 
and  no  doubt  partially  insane.  Kind  friends  who  found  them  after 
their  death,  buried  their  bodies  as  best  they  could,  and  placed  the 
mound  above  them  to  keep  away  the  wolves,  and  to  serve  as  a 
monument  to  their  lives  sacrificed  in  the  desert. 

Over  the  dreary,  sandy  waste  we  drove  the  next  day,  expect- 
ing to  find  water  at  the  crossing  of  the  Beaver  Dam  wash,  but  not 
a  drop  was  to  be  found;  the  creek  sinks  into  the  sand  about  four 
miles  above  the  road  and  reappears  near  the  Virgen  river.  The 
animals  were  whining  for  water.  We  were  compelled  to  drive  on 
to  a  place  called  the  Cedar  Pockets  where  a  supply  of  water  was 
found,  and  there  we  camped  for  the  night,  in  a  forest  of  yuccas,  a 
distance  of  thirty-two  miles  from  the  other  camp. 

While  there,  another  courier  arrived  bringing  the  tidings  that 
the  Cullom  bill  had  passed  the  House.  I  shall  never  forget  the 
effect  of  this  bit  of  news  upon  the  campers.  President  Young 
read  the  dispatch  carefully,  not  a  word  escaping  his  lips;  the  rest 
of  the  party  were  much  excited,  and  gave  vent  to  their  feelings  in 
loud  talking  and  gesticulations,  but  the  leader  said  nothing.     All 


A  TRIP  SOUTH  WITH  PRESIDENT  YOUNG.  435 

around  the  camp,  the  question  was  asked,  "What  did  the  President 
say?"    To  their  great  mortification — nothing. 

If  ever  there  was  a  time  when  a  few  words  from  him  would 
have  been  welcome  and  timely,  it  seemed  that  then  was  the 
supreme  moment.  The  news  was  unexpected,  and  unlooked  for, 
and  excited  everybody,  but  he  alone  was  silent.  An  after-thought 
led  me  to  ask,  "What  could  he  have  said?"  One  of  the  reasons 
for  his  magnetic  influence  rested  in  the  fact  that  he  never  lost 
himself  in  talk;  whatever  he  said  was  always  welcome;  he  never 
spoke  too  long,  and  always  sought  inspiration  before  deciding  any 
issue.  This  characteristic  entered  into  his  everyday  doings;  he 
never  went  against  the  promptings  of  the  divine  influence  which 
he  continually  sought.  This  was  the  secret  of  his  quiet  power, 
and  prestige.  It  is  a  delightful  thought  that  we  all  have  the  same 
source  of  daily  guidance  to  help  us  in  the  battle  of  life,  if  we  will 
only  seek  it. 

The  next  day,  about  noon,  we  reached  St.  George  renewing 
again  the  friendships  with  the  people.  I  left  the  party  there 
to  go  to  Little  Zion  Valley  on  a  spur  of  the  Rio  Virgen,  on  a 
photographic  trip.  It  was  given  out  as  a  remarkable  fact  that 
thousands  could  find  a  hiding-place  up  there,  so  my  ambition  was 
aroused  to  see  it.  Some  enthusiasts  had  reported  the  place  to 
President  Young  as  a  veritable  Zion.  "Call  it  Little  Zion,"  said  he, 
and  that  is  the  name  it  still  bears. 

I  found  it  to  be  a  remarkable  valley  with  high,  vertical  cliffs, 
towering  upward  from  two  to  three  thousand  feet,  and  so  com- 
pletely locked  that  there  was  no  outlet  other  than  the  way  of 
entrance.  From  a  picturesque  point  of  view,  it  was  grand,  sub- 
lime, and  majestic,  but  as  a  place  of  residence,  lonely  and  unat- 
tractive, reminding  one  of  living  in  a  stone  box;  the  landscape,  a 
skyscrape;  a  good  place  to  visit,  and  a  nice  place  to  leave.  The 
whole  region  of  the  headwaters  of  the  Rio  Virgen  is  very  beautiful 
for  the  artist,  and  the  river  banks  afford  good  places  for  settlers. 

I  rejoined  the  President's  party  at  Kannara.  I  observed  all  the 
attractions  of  Rockville,  Grafton,  Virgen  City,  and  Toquerville — 
on  my  return  trip,  and  reached  Kannara  a  day  or  two  before  the 
arrival  of  the  party.    When  the  President  saw  me,  he  chided  me 


436  IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 

for  going  off  alone,  and  taking  such  risks,  but  I  satisfied  him  that 
I  was  always  with  friends,  and  hence  not  alone. 

I  remained  with  the  company  until  they  reached  Beaver  City. 
The  return  was  as  welcome  and  agreeable  as  the  first  visit.  News 
■  came  to  me  of  the  severe  sickness  of  my  boy,  and  I  hastened 
homeward  by  stage. 

I  have  thought  many  times,  that  since  an  account  of  the 
President's  visits  has  never  been  described  at  length,  I  would  risk 
the  recital  of  a  subject  which  abler  men  have  left  untouched,  and 
so  submit  these  details.  Those  who  have  never  had  such  an 
opportunity,  will  be  able  to  see  how  greatly  such  movements 
helped  to  encourage  the  minds  of  those  whose  duty  it  was  to  build 
bridges,  make  ditches,  and  kill  the  snakes  for  the  generations  that 
will  follow  in  our  own  loved  Deseret.  I  was  glad  to  accompany, 
and  to  see  so  much  of,  one  of  the  greatest  men  of  the  century. 


THROUGH  CHRIST  AND  REPENTANCE  ARE  YE  SAVED. 


Learn  to  shun  no  task  or  duty;    follow  where  the  Savior  led: 
Jesus'  life  was  plain  and  perfect;  in  his  footsteps  let  us  tread. 

Ask  the  secret  of  his  mission,  search  the  key  to  his  success: 
'Twas:  he  sought  to  save  his  fellows,  truly  love  them  and  to  bless. 

And  his  prayer  was:  "Thine,  0  Father,  thine  and  not  my  will  be  done." 
And  his  will  was  e'en  the  Father's,  e'en  the  Great  Eternal  One. 

Lo!  he  groaned  in  blood  and  anguish,  sorely  wept  for  those  who  sin, 
Gladly  suffered  pain  and  sorrow,  nobly  died,  that  man  might  win. 

Follow  then  his  sacred  footsteps,  crown  of  Glory  and  of  Life, 
And]be  valient  in  his  service,  in  the  war  'gainst  sin  and  strife. 

He  shall  lead  them  to  his  glory,  and  deliver  them  from  fall. 
Who  ropent  of  their  transgressions,  and  obey  his  saving  call. 

Annie  G.  Lauritzen. 
nichfield,  Utah. 


SILENT  FORCES. 

BY  HENRY  W.  NAISBITT. 


Many  of  the  most  important  material  forces  of  nature  are 
strangely  silent  in  their  action;  so  far  as  human  ears  or  observation 
goes,  all  the  planetary  universe  moves  in  utter  silence.  There  is 
no  echo  in  the  fathomless  fields  of  space;  and  while  poetry  dilates 
and  raphsodizes  over  "the  music  of  the  spheres,"  only  the  fervor  of 
imagination  hears  that  tone.  To  the  ordinary  soul,  it  is  the  music 
of  silence  or  "music  asleep."  There  was  one  who  claimed  that  the 
grand  orbs  around  us  are  "ever  singing  as  they  shine,  the  hand 
that  made  us  is  divine,"  and  the  Psalmist,  similarly  gifted,  held  a 
sentiment  as  beautiful  and  suggestive  when  he  exclaimed,  "The 
heavens  declare  the  glory  of  God;  and  the  firmament  showeth  his 
handiwork.  Day  unto  day  uttereth  speech  and  night  unto  night 
showeth  forth  knowledge.  There  is  no  speech  nor  language  where 
their  voice  is  not  heard."  But  that  speech  is  not  vocal,  that  lan- 
guage is  not  of  earth,  that  voice  is  only  to  the  soul;  spirit  ears 
may  be  attuned  to  such  music,  may  understand  such  voices,  may 
comprehend  such  speech,  but  to  most  of  men,  worlds  move  upon 
their  orbits  almost  without  observation  and  certainly  without  audi- 
ble rhythm;  they  all  move  in  harmony,  but  their  gamut  of  tone  and 
sound  is  silence,  "not  loud,  but  deep!" 

The  great  glacier  fields  of  earth  are  silent  in  their  irresistible 
movements;  it  is  only  as  they  break  above  the  abysmal  ocean,  or, 
drifting,  dissolve  in  warmer  waters,  that  they  groan  and  crash  to 
their  ultimate  destruction.  Yet  in  all  past  ages  their  action  has 
changed  continents,  aided  in  forming  islands,  and  in  grooving  into 
mighty  furrows  the  now  sadly  scarred  face  of  mother  earth! 


438  IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 

We  have  heard  of  the  roar  of  the  ocean,  we  have  heard  also 
of  its  peaceful  murmuring,  "as  it  breaks  upon  the  shore,"  but  in 
mid-ocean,  while  it  plays  as  with  a  toy  on  the  proudest  mechanism 
created  of  man,  its  waves  roll  mountain  high  in  comparative 
silence;  obstruction  alone  demonstrates  the  impetuous  force  as  it 
is  generated,  and  then  as  gradually  lapses  into  silence  that  might 
not  disturb  a  babe ! 

All  have  noted  the  soft,  silent  action  of  light  as  it  streams 
from  the  far  distant  sun;  men  have  assumed  to  measure  its  velocity, 
to  determine  its  caloric,  and  to  gauge  its  change  from  summer  to 
winter,  but  few  have  recognized  its  sublime  silence,  its  stealthy 
approach,  its  peaceful  departure,  its  wonderful  noiseless  silence  in 
every  phase  or  mood! 

In  all  those  strange  changes  of  plant  growth  which  are  so 
common  as  to  excite  hardly  observation,  there  is  the  same  eternal 
phenomenon  of  silence;  growth  is  one  of  the  manifestations  and 
miracles  of  life, — "first  the  blade,  then  the  ear,  then  the  full  corn 
in  the  ear,"  every  process  of  flower,  of  shrub,  of  tree,  of  the  vege- 
table kingdom,  serene,  certain,  positive,  each  working  its  individual 
law  of  life  without  ostentation,  courting  no  smile,  fearing  no 
frown,  yet  in  its  native  habitat  working  out  its  individual  problem, 
its  given  mission,  its  glorious,  perfect  life! 

How  unlike  the  operations  of  humanity,  with  its  bustle,  its 
self -inflation,  its  love  of  approbation,  its  desire  for  renown!  We 
have  not  read  of  any  achievement,  save  one,  which  indicated  in  its 
accomplishment,  this  attractive  silence  so  grandly  vindicated  in 
the  wonderful  works  of  God.  The  unique  illustration  referred  to 
is  in  the  case  of  the  building  of  Solomon's  temple  which  "came 
together  without  the  sound  of  ax  or  hammer,  or  any  tool  of  iron 
being  heard  thereon."  Even  the  peace  of  mankind  in  general, 
about  which  so  much  is  boastingly  said,  is  far  below  that  tangible 
yet  silent  "peace  of  God,  which  passeth  all  understanding!" 

The  action  of  mentality,  the  power  of  thought  to  penetrate, 
to  make  or  win  its  widening  way,  is  similar  to  the  power  of  light, 
to  the  miracle  of  growth,  to  the  erosive  friction  of  a  glacier,  to 
the  majestic,  stately  silence  of  the  stellar  world;  a  great  thought 
is  never  lost;  receptive  element,  nourishment,  life  comes  when  con- 
genial conditions  assert  themselves.     It  is  like  the  seed  which. 


SILENT  FORCES.  439 

stored  along  with  mummies  in  the  ages  past,  when  brought  from 
darkness  to  light,  from  arid  depth,  to  humid  limits,  breaks  forth 
in  growing  verdure  to  tell  the  story  of  a  glorious  resurrection. 
So  these  old  truths,  conceived  in  silence,  buried  in  obscurity, 
waiting  only  "the  hour  and  the  man"  to  break  forth  into  unlimited 
verdure,  as  luxuriant  as  the  tropics,  as  beautiful  as  any  devotee's 
anticipation  oniheaven,  and  withal  so  silently  powerful,  that  the 
little  mustard  seed  becomes  a  great  tree,  or  as  the  little  leaven  in 
three  measures  of  meal  which  by  and  by  "leavens  the  whole  lump." 

Nowhere  is  this  startling  fact  of  the  silent  fecundity  of 
thought  more  strangely  manifest  than  in  the  eternal  truths  of  the 
Gospel  as  restored  to  the  earth  in  this  our  dispensation.  Chris- 
tianity had  become  effete  in  many  respects;  it  had  a  galvanic  life, 
it  had  a  measure  of  truth,  but  it  had  become  stereotyped,  it  had 
lost  its  savor,  its  creeds  were  speculation,  its  Bible  was  a  fetish, 
its  representatives  made  merchandise  of  the  souls  of  men,  and  its 
divinity  or  theology,  made  up  of  abstruse  fictions,  created  wars, 
physical  and  mental,  which  testified  to  the  acerbity  of  professors, 
and  truly  said  that  figments  of  the  brain  had  overthrown  the 
philosophy  of  the  Gospel,  and  that  superstition  had  exalted  itself 
above  the  oracles  of  God! 

With  the  dawn  of  a  new  era — an  era  not  only  of  revealing  but 
of  receptivity, — old  theories,  dogmas,  doctrines,  began  to  unbar 
their  doors.  With  the  introduction  of  the  Gospel  came  a  time  of 
daring  controversy,  every  elder  of  The  Church  had  an  opponent, 
every  teacher  had  a  hearer,  the  stagnant  waters  of  antiquated 
orthodoxy  became  troubled,  but  the  "little  Davids"  left  many  a 
proud  Goliath  on  the  polemical  battle-field.  Since  that,  "discre- 
tion has  become  the  better  part  of  valor,"  and  now  contemptuous 
silence  is  the  answer  to  all  interrogatories,  whether  from  friend 
or  foe;  it  has  become,  as  a  ready  opponent  said  the  other  day,  "I 
will  not  discuss  with  you  on  doctrine,  but  on  side  issues  I  may 
meet  you."  He  failed  to  see  that  all  side  issues  were  the  legiti- 
mate product  of  the  tree  of  Knowledge,  and  like  the  whole,  in  that 
he  confessed  himself  an  already  vanquished  man ! 

But  these  facts  in  no  way  forestall  the  argument,  that 
"Mormon"  theory  and  "Mormon"  thought  have  radically  changed 
the  teachings  of  modern  Christendom.     Ministers  no  longer  preach 


440  IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 

a  literal  hell  fire,  they  no  longer  consign  to  torment  "children  a 
span  long;"  they  are  absorbing  greedily  the  doctrine  of  the  Father- 
hood of  God,  and  as  to  baptism,  it  is  asserted  that  many  ministers 
are  prepared  to  placate  a  convert  by  "immersing"  him  in  water,  if 
he  believes  in  its  rightfulness  or  necessity.  It  is  also  beginning  to 
be  realized  that  authority  in  ordinance  is  a  factor  in  salvation,  and 
all  the  Ritualistic  strife  is  not  of  Catholic  origin  but  comes  from 
a  less  reputable  source  (?)  than  the  antiquated  theories  of  the 
mother  church. 

Many  also  begin  to  teach  the  beautiful  truth  of  divine  mother- 
hood, and  hosts  are  converts  to  the  idea  that  family  relationship  is 
among  the  delightful  probabilities  of  the  other  side.  Then  the 
general  hope  that  an  erring  soul  may  yet  find  opportunities  for 
the  mercy  and  salvation  of  God,  is  slowly  percolating  through 
clerical  and  other  channels,  as  not  either  unbiblical  or  unlikely  in 
the  great  hereafter.  True  philosophy  is  making  inroads  into 
superstition  and  orthodoxy;  but  few  give  credit  to  Joseph  Smith, 
the  great  latter-day  Prophet,  and  fewer  still  would  willingly 
acknowledge  indebtedness  to  the  Journal  of  Discourses,  the 
writings  "of  leading  men,  or  the  battering  rams  of  the  priesthood 
in  general,  which  have  silenced  so  many  guns,  stormed  so  many 
fortresses,  and  captured  so  many  prisoners  in  the  name  of  the  God 
of  battles  and  of  his  Son  Jesus  Christ! 

There  is  more  "Mormonism"  preached  today  in  every  little 
conventicle,  than  there  was  in  all  the  Christian  world  in  the  year 
1830,  when  this  aggressive  Church,  this  potent  power  in  theology, 
first  went  out.  "The  men  that  have  turned  the  world  upside  down 
have  come  hither  also,"  was  the  cry  in  the  apostolic  age,  but  it  is 
as  true  today,  though  no  man  may  be  willing  to  acknowledge  the 
fountain  of  his  inspiration,  and  few  may  know  how,  when  or  where 
their  blinded  eyes  "saw  men  as  trees  walking,"  and  not  calling  for 
any  additional  sight! 

Many  years  ago,  socialists  admitted  that  "while  they  had 
been  dreaming  the  'Mormons'  had  been  working,"  They  had 
solved  the  problem  of  united  colonization,  and  manifested  that 
industrial  combination  could  redeem  the  desert  and  create  a  state; 
envy  and  chagrin  led  to  experiment  after  experiment.  It  was 
thought  that  Brigham  Young  and  his  compeers  could  be  system- 


SILENT  FORCES.  441 

atically  outranked,  but  utter  failure  demonstrated  the  necessity 
of  a  more  subtle  force  than  "simon-pure"  social  equality,  and  that 
was  seen  to  be  the  religious  element.  Then  religionists  essayed  to 
enter  the  lists  and  secure  the  triumph,  but  from  the  Shakers  to 
General  Booth,  even  so-called  religious  sentiment  has  failed  to  give 
cohesion  to  an  assumed  individualism  which  was  deemed  essential 
to  success. 

Most  of  these  have  taken  their  cue,  and  based  their  hopes , 
and  felt  sure  of  success  because  a  really  united  people  had  built 
"an  empire  in  the  desert,"  and  compelled  (as  was  thought)  success 
from  the  very  jaws  of  death.  Copyists  and  imitators  had  not 
divined  the  secret  into  the  arcana  of  action;  they  had  failed  to  find 
the  proper  entrance;  every  excuse  was  used  to  explain  defeat, 
every  possible  idea  was  urged  as  the  sure  basis  of  success.  Some 
said  it  was  Brigham  Young,  some  said  it  was  the  ignorance  or  sub- 
servience of  the  people,  some  claimed  that  isolation  made  unity 
possible,  but  the  great,  the  giant  leader  said  that  "God  was  in  it,'* 
while  everything  demonstrated  that  as  to  the  imitators,  "God  was 
not  in  all  their  thoughts." 

Dealing  with  and  utilizing  barbarous  and  semi-civilized  tribes 
of  men  attests  the  genius  and  spirit  of  the  "Mormon"  people.  When 
Brigham  said  that  "it  was  cheaper  to  feed  Indians  than  to  fight 
them,"  he  uttered  a  pregnant  truth,  one  which  is  today  the  basis 
of  all  Indian  reservation  projects  however  corruptly  the  idea  may 
have  been  carried  out.  Utah,  for  lo  these  many  years,  has  seen  its 
devoted  missionaries  laboring  among  that  class,  teaching  them  the 
arts  of  peace,  training  them  to  independence  through  industrial 
activity,  opening  farms,  planting  orchards,  establishing  schools, 
and  introducing  the  primary  elements  of  an  expanding  civilization 
"without  fee  or  hope  of  reward;"  and  to  see  the  red  man  drive  his 
own  team,  guide  his  own  plough,  build  his  own  rude  home,  and 
meet  in  school  or  church,  is  testimony  to  the  genius  of  the  Gospel, 
which  counts  a  fading  race  as  of  Israel  and  included  in  the 
promises. 

Ministers  of  many  churches,  after  spending  years  of  time  and 
uncounted  treasure,  have  in  late  years  awakened  to  the  "Mormon' 
idea  that  industrial  training  is  better  than  dogmas,  and  that  tem- 
poral salvation  must  run  parallel  with  all  salvation  which  had  its 


442    .  IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 

origin  in  the  Divine  mind!  Africa,  India,  and  other  prominent 
sectarian  mission  fields,  have  followed  the  lead  of  the  "Mormon" 
Church,  and  modern  effort  is  now  being  developed  on  that  grand 
scale  which  wealth  implies,  but  which  their  predecessors  walked 
in  in  poverty,  and  for  many  and  many  a  year  alone! 

Hawaii  and  other  of  the  Pacific  Islands  testify  to  the  indus- 
trial, moral  and  religious  training  of  the  unselfish  and  unsalaried 
"Mormon"  Elders.  They  were  not  college  men,  not  theorists,  not 
dealers  in  abstract  or  contradictory  doctrines;  they  were  sternly 
educated,  practical  men,  they  had  stormed  and  conquered  the 
sterilities  of  nature;  they  had  learned  the  value  of  unremitting  toil, 
and  in  the  simplicity  but  earnestness  of  their  faith,  they  saw  the 
otherwise  invisible  hand  of  God,  and  this  spirit  they  sought  to  im- 
press, in  association  with  the  Gospel,  into  the  hearts  of  all  be- 
lievers! 

This  is  getting  to  be  understood  by  some  minds  who  control 
the  press.     An  editorial  in  the  Liverpool  Post  said  lately: 

Far  be  it  from  any  thinking  man  to  underrate  the  value  of  religious 
teaching  pure  and  simple;  but  if  that  teaching  is  to  be  really  effectual, 
it  must  be  followed  by  such  lessons  and  examples  as  will  lead  to  the  trans- 
formation of  the  converted  heathen  into  a  good  citizen;  the  attributes  of 
civilization  must  take  the  place  of  savagery;  the  convert  must  be  taught 
that  daily  labor  is  not  degrading,  but  elevating;  he  must  be  shown  how 
to  work,  and  he  must  be  allowed  to  reap  the  fruits  of  his  labors ! 

Ah  me!  surely  the  leaven  of  example,  the  silent  force  of  truth, 
is  at  work  in  unexpected  places.  If  seventy  years  of  unostentatious 
advocacy  of  the  Gospel  as  restored  and  revealed  through  the  Prophet 
Joseph,  and  practically  applied  by  his  successors  under  God,  hath 
done  this,  what  may  we  not  anticipate  in  change  and  silent  revolu- 
tion ere  fifty  more  shall  astound  the  nations  by  its  development 
of  "Mormon"  influence,  "Mormon,"  example,  and  progressive  "Mor- 
mon" thought? 

In  other  departments  of  human  action,  changes  and  tests  have 
been  made  from  time  to  time,  all  clearly  traceable  to  "the  new 
dispensation."  But  this  article  is  already  too  much  drawn  out  for 
the  limited  pages  of  the  Era;  nevertheless,  in  conclusion  it  may 
be  said  that  politics,  family  life,  social  life,  industrial  methods, 


SILENT  FORCES.  443 

cooperative  theories,  questions  of  education,patriotism,  finance, 
civil  government  and  state  founding,  have  all  been  touched  and 
partially  glorified  by  "Mormon"  thought  and  consideration.  If  this 
is  egotism,  if  it  is  deemed  rash,  improbable,  or  untrue,  let  the 
observing  mind  follow  the  penetrating  power  of  ideas, the  irresistible 
force  of  thought.  "The  Kingdom  of  God  cometh  not  with  obser- 
vation," there  is  no  flourish  of  trumpets,  no  Sinaic  thunders,  no 
laudation  of  men,  no  patronage  of  wealth,  no  governmental  aid, 
none  of  the  lauded  appliances  of  intellectual  culture  or  approbation 
of  learned  societies.  Its  only  auxiliaries  are  simple  men  who, 
under  an  unmistakable  inspiration,  are  voicing  the  decrees  of  des- 
tiny, the  purposes  of  the  living  God.  The  preaching  of  the  Gospel 
by  authority  is  the  voice  of  the  Father,  it  is  really  the  philosophy 
of  the  Heavens,  the  science  of  eternal  life;  but  it  embraces  all 
truth,  includes  all  topics,  touches  all  interests,  and  circumscribes 
both  heaven  and  earth,  time  and  eternity;  and  it  marvelously  dem- 
onstrates the  power  of  a  silent  force  which  is  as  tangible  and 
powerful  as  the  forces  which  control  the  starry  heavens,  and 
glorify  each  season  on  the  bosom  of  our  present  mother  earth. 


BRILLIANTS. 


"What  God  appoints,  enjoy — 
What  he  withholds,  forbear — 

Each  care  a  hidden  blessing  brings. 
Each  blessing  brings  a  care." 

"I  cannot  read  His  future  plans, 

But  this  I  know: 
I  have  the  smiling  of  his  face 
And  all  the  refuge  of  his  grace 

While  here  below. 

"Enough;  this  covers  all  my  wants, 

And  so  I  rest; 
For  what  I  cannot,  he  can  see. 
And  in  his  care  I  safe  shall  be, 
*    Forever  blest." 


THEOLOGY  IN  EDUCATION. 

BY  PROFESSOR  WILLARD  DONE,  OF  THE  BRIGHAM  YOUNG  COLLEGE, 

LOGAN. 


II. 

PLACE  OF  THEOLOGY  IN  THE  DOMAIN  OF  HUMAN 
LEARNING. 


In  the  preceding  paper,  consideration  was  given  to  the  defini- 
tions of  knowledge,  science,  philosophy,  and  theology.  From  the 
statements  there  made,  the  following  conclusions  may  be  drawn 
and  defended: 

1.  Knowledge  is  at  first  crude,  unorganized,  ununified;  whether 
it  is  a  knowledge  of  things  or  merely  of  phenomena,  remains  to  be 
discussed. 

2.  When  this  knowledge  is  systematized  and  unified  along^ 
various  appropriate  lines,  it  becomes  science. 

3.  When  all  these  sciences,  in  their  most  general  laws  and 
principles,  are  unified  and  organized  to  the  limit  of  man's  unaided- 
intellect,  the  result  is  philosophy. 

4.  This  unified  knowledge,  the  fruit  of  the  intellectual  powers, 
and  the  knowledge  gained  through  the  exercise  of  faith,  when 
combined  under  the  influence  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  constitute  true 
theology. 

To  the  first  of  these  propositions  but  little  space  will  be  given. 
Pyrrho  and  Timon,  advocates  of  the  skeptic  school  of  philosophy, 
Kant,  the  great  transcendentalist,  and,  in  our  own  day,  the  agnos- 
tic school  of  philosophy,  with  Herbert  Spencer  as  one  of  its  chief 
representatives,  have  advanced  the  idea  that  all  our  knowledge  is 
limited  to  phenomena,  and  that  a  knowledge  of  things  in  them- 


THEOLOGY  IN  EDUDATION.  445 

selves  is  impossible.  It  is  impossible  in  this  paper  to  go  into 
metaphysical  argument  on  the  subject.  It  is  sufficient  to  say  that 
men  as  noted  as  Mr.  Spencer  in  the  field  of  thought,  affirm  the 
opposite;  and  that  common  sense,  the  final  arbiter  of  all  disputed 
questions  of  speculation,  loudly  proclaims  against  such  agnosticism. 
A  few  quotations  may  not  be  out  of  place: 

By  the  testimony,  the  words,  and  the  works  of  other  men,  we  know 
that  human  knowledge  is  always  in  like  manner  the  knowledge  of  the 
subject  knowing  and  the  object  known.  I  may  say  that  the  entire 
experience  of  mankind  is  the  continuous  revelation  of  these  realities  to 
the  human  consciousness,  and  that  all  human  experience  is  conditioned 
on  their  real  existence.  Man  lives  in  their  presence  and  in  every  act  of 
intelligence  sees  their  reality.  If,  therefore,  the  primordial  postulate  on 
which  human  knowledge  rests  is  false,  all  human  knowledge  vanishes 
away.* 

Nor  does  it  discredit  the  reality  of  knowledge  that  its  evidence  is 
not  a  demonstration.  It  is  more  than  a  demonstration;  it  is  the  very 
essence  of  knowledge  itself;  it  is  the  primitive  datum  which  underlies 
every  demonstration  and  makes  it  possible.  Man  lives  in  the  light  of 
the  knowledge  of  himself  and  of  the  world,  and  all  his  experience  is  the 
continual  illumination  of  these  realities.f 

As  the  inner  life  has  grown  more  complex  in  manifestation,  and 
richer  in  content,  the  system  of  conceptions  has  progressed  to  correspond. 
It  is  by  this  contact  with  life  and  reality  that  thought  grows,  and  not  by 
a  barren  logic — chopping  or  verbal  haggling  about  proof.  *  *  *  The 
law  which  the  mind  implicitly  follows  is  this:  Whatever  our  total  nature 
calls  for  may  be  assumed  as  real  in  default  of  positive  disproof.^ 

First,  we  must  hold  that  the  system  of  things  is  essentially  a  thought 
system.  It  is,  however,  not  merely  a  thought,  but  a  thought  realized  in 
act.  As  such  it  is  real;  and  as  such,  it  is  transparent  to  thought.  * 
*    *    It  may  be  unknown;  it  cannot  be  essentially  unknowable.§ 

It  can  be  shown  that  the  theory  of  the  relativity  of  knowl- 
edge has  arisen  from  barren  speculation.  Here  the  words  of  Goethe 
are  applicable: 


*Harris'  "Philosophical  Basis  of  Theism,"  p.  12. 

tibid,  p.  13. 

JBowne's  "Philosophy  of  Theism,"  p.  25. 

§  Bowne's  "Metaphysics,"  p.  487. 


446  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

I  tell  thee,  a  fellow  who  speculates  is  like  a  beast  on  a  dry  heathy 
driven  round  and  round  by  an  evil  spirit,  while  all  about  him  lie  the 
beautiful  green  meadows.* 

From  these  and  other  similar  considerations,  we  are  led  to  think 
that  it  is  best  to  take  knowledge  as  it  comes  to  us,  real,  knowable, 
filled  with  an  essence  which  appeals  to  our  consciousness,  and  satis- 
fies the  longing  hunger  of  the  intellect.  The  husks  of  ideality  and 
phenomenalism  are  not  soul-satisfying. 

The  second  proposition  named  above  should  not  be  difficult  of 
explanation,  and  it  needs  no  defense.  All  knowledge  falls  naturally 
into  its  appropriate  class,  and,  unified  and  systematized,  becomes 
science.  Each  of  the  sciences  has  its  laws,  according  to  which  the 
knowledge  included  within  the  science  is  classified.  Thus  chemistry 
with  its  principles  of  atomic  affinities;  physics,  with  its  laws  of 
molecular  motion;  comparative  anatomy,  with  its  laws  of  proportion 
and  interaction;  astronomy,  with  its  principles  of  stellar  and  plan- 
etary motion,  become  each  a  science,  systematizing  and  classifying 
the  facts  which  come  into  its  circle  of  laws.  The  work  of  the 
chemist,  the  physicist,  the  anatomist,  the  astronomer,  is  to  take 
these  appropriate  facts  and  unify  them,  each  into  his  respective 
system  of  truth,  and  stamp  them  with  the  seal  of  science.  Thus 
the  individual  sciences  grow,  and  thus  they  will  continue  to  develop, 
so  long  as  there  are  men  of  learning  and  high  aim,  willing  to  devote 
life  and  energy  to  the  work  of  broadening  the  field  of  human  knowl- 
edge, and  systematizing  the  fruits  of  special  research.  Nor  should 
this  labor  be  discredited.  Much  of  the  world's  progress  in  intel- 
lectual culture,  much  of  its  advancement  in  material  comforts,  it 
owes  to  the  labor  of  the  patient,  thorough  scientist,  proud  of  his 
work,  and  aware  of  its  great  possibilities. 

The  third  proposition  introduces  us  to  the  work  of  the  philos- 
opher. It  is  his  peculiar  labor  to  take  the  work  of  the  scientists, 
and  bring  the  general  laws  they  have  discovered  and  formulated, 
into  an  ultimate  union.  If  a  general  law  runs  throughout  two  or 
more  of  the  special  sciences,  it  may  be  formulated  into  a  law  of 
philosophy.  This  formulation  is  accomplished  by  developing  knowl- 
edge to  the  highest  possible  degree  of  generality.     This  generality 


*  Mephistopheles,  in  "Faust." 


THEOLOGY  IN  EDUCATION.  447 

is  naturally  limited  by  the  limitations  of  the  human  intellect.  But 
when  the  process  of  unification  and  generalization  has  gone  as  far 
as  man's  unaided  mind  may  carry  it,  the  general  laws  thus  resulting 
constitute  philosophy.     As  Spencer  says: 

And  now  how  is  philosophy  constituted?  It  is  constituted  by  carry- 
ing a  stage  further  the  process  [of  generalization]  indicated.  So  long  as 
these  truths  are  known  only  apart  and  regarded  as  independent,  even  the 
most  general  of  them  cannot  without  laxity  of  speech  be  called  philo- 
sophical. But  when,  having  been  severally  reduced  to  a  simple  mechani- 
cal axiom,  a  principle  of  molecular  physics,  and  a  law  of  social  action, 
they  are  contemplated  together  as  corollaries  of  some  ultimate  truth, 
then  we  rise  to  the  kind  of  knowledge  that  constitutes  philosophy 
proper.* 

It  is  in  the  fourth  proposition  that  the  "parting  of  the  ways" 
of  the  agnostic  and  the  theist  occurs.  The  former  asserts  that 
religion  lies  entirely  outside  the  domain  of  human  knowledge 
and  deals  alone  with  feeling — the  indefinable  longings  of  the  soul. 
The  latter  claims  that  religion  not  only  transcends  the  knowledge 
gained  by  human  means,  but  includes  this  knowledge.  It  is  not 
merely  above  human  knowledge,  but  is  large  enough  to  embrace  it. 
The  arguments  in  support  of  this  proposition,  presented  in  the 
former  paper,  will  not  be  repeated  here.  It  may  be  safely  left  to 
the  reader  to  establish  in  his  own  mind  the  proposition  that  faith 
will  supply  all  deficiencies  in  the  perfect  unification  of  knowledge, 
bringing  man,  ultimately,  to  a  complete  understanding  of  the  sys- 
tem of  God,  which  includes  the  system  of  nature. 

This  brings  us  to  the  consideration  of  the  place  and  value  of 
faith  in  the  domain  of  human  research.  There  are  two  methods  of 
investigating  the  laws  of  nature,  which  may,  for  convenience,  be 
called  the  doubt  method  and  the  faith  method.  The  first  starts  out 
with  the  assumption  that  everything  is  false  until  its  truth  is 
demonstrated;  the  second  with  the  idea  that  everything  which 
has  strong  probabilities  in  its  favor  may  be  given  respectful  con- 
sideration until  it  is  disproved.  The  experience  of  men  of  intellect 
proves  the  superiority  of  the  latter  method.  Not  only  is  it  of  value 
in  the  domain  of  religious  research — it  is  equally  important  in  the 


♦"First  Principles,"  p.  135. 


448  IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 

realm  of  scientific  thought.  It  has  its  counterpart  in  the  dealings 
of  man  with  man,  where  it  is  found  to  be  much  better  to  believe 
a  man  honest  until  he  is  proved  a  rogue,  than  to  believe  him  a 
thief  until  he  shows  himself  to  be  honest.  One  writer  has  truly- 
said,  with  reference  to  these  two  systems: 

It  is  a  traditional  superstition  of  intellect  that  nothing  is  to  be 
accepted  which  is  not  either  self-evident  or  demonstrated.  The  corres- 
ponding conception  of  method  is  this:  Let  us  first  find  some  invincible 
fact  or  principle,  something  which  cannot  be  doubted  or  denied  without 
absurdity,  and  from  this  let  us  deduce  by  cogent  logic  whatever  may  be 
got  out  of  it.  When  we  reach  the  end  of  our  logic  let  us  stop.  In  other 
words,  admit  nothing  that  can  be  doubted.  Make  no  assumptions,  and 
take  no  step  which  is  not  compelled  by  rigorous  logic.  And,  above  all, 
let  no  feeling,  or  sentiment,  or  desire  have  any  voice  in  determining 
belief.  If  we  follow  this  rule  we  shall  never  be  confounded,  and  knowl- 
edge will  progress. 

Opposed  to  this  conception  of  method  is  another,  as  follows:  In- 
stead of  doubting  everything  that  can  be  doubted,  let  us  rather  doubt 
nothing  until  we  are  compelled  to  doubt.  Let  us  assume  that  every- 
thing is  what  it  reports  itself  until  some  reasons  for  doubt  appear.  In 
society  we  get  on  better  by  assuming  that  men  are  truthful,  and  by 
doubting  only  for  special  reasons,  than  we  should  if  we  assumed  that  all 
men  are  liars,  and  believed  them  only  when  compelled.  So  in  all  inves- 
tigation v/e  make  more  progress  if  we  assume  the  truthfulness  of  the 
universe  and  of  our  own  nature  than  we  should  if  we  doubted  both. 

Such  are  the  two  methods.  The  former  assumes  everything  to  be 
false  until  proved  true;  the  latter  assumes  everything  to  be  true  until 
proved  false.  All  fruitful  work  proceeds  upon  the  latter  method;  most 
speculative  criticism  and  closet-philosophy  proceed  upon  the  former. 
Hence  their  perennial  barrenness. 

The  first  method  seems  the  more  rigorous,  but  it  can  be  applied  only 
to  mathematics,  which  is  purely  a  subjective  science.  When  we  come 
to  deal  with  reality  the  method  brings  thought  to  a  standstill,* 

These  words  define  quite  clearly  the  position  of  the  man  who 
denies  the  existence  of  God  and  the  efiicacy  of  faith,  with  ref- 
erence to  the  work  of  man's  intellect.  His  position  is  much  more 
serious  as  regards  his  seeking  after  God,  for  no  investigators  who 


*Bowne's  "Philosophy  of  Theism,"  pp.  11,  12. 


THEOLOGY  IN  EDUCATION.  449 

have  undertaken  that  research  negatively,  ever  have  found,  or  ever 
will  find  him.  And  their  research  in  the  realm  of  human  knowledge 
will  be  just  as  barren  of  results.  All  this  research  presupposes 
faith  in  man's  own  powers,  and  in  the  reality  of  the  principles  of 
knowledge,  or  it  is  doomed  at  the  outset  to  accomplish  nothing.  I 
cannot  do  better  here  than  quote  the  thoughtful  words  of  Dr. 
Samuel  Harris: 

It  is  commonly  said  and  widely  accepted  as  unquestionable,  that 
physical  science,  being  founded  on  observation  and  induction,  is  certain 
knowledge;  but  that  theological  belief  is  only  a  faith  which  never  be- 
comes real  knowledge.  But  physical  science  and  religious  knowledge 
are,  as  knowledge,  the  same  in  kind,  differing  only  in  their  objects.  The 
observation  and  experience  on  which  physical  science  rests  are  self-evi- 
dent, unproved,  and  unprovable  knowledge.  The  principles  on  which  all 
the  inductions  and  deductions  of  physical  science  rest  are  self-evident, 
unproved,  and  unprovable  knowledge.  *  *  *  ^.nd  its  verifications 
also  are  simply  self-evident,  unproved,  and  unprovable  knowledge  by 
cumulative  observation  and  experience,  by  persistence  in  which,  in  the  face 
of  conscious  fallibility  and  many  mistakes,  it  attains  what  it  rightly 
claims  is  real  and  indisputable  knowledge.  And  this  scientists  call  the 
scientific  method;  and  because  this  knowledge  has  been  attained  in  this 
method,  they  hold  it  for  true  in  the  face  of  unanswered  objections  and  the 
utter  inconceivableness  of  many  of  its  conclusions;  receiving  it  with  all  its 
inexplicable  diflBculties,  as  a  learned  professor  of  natural  science  has  said 
"without  a  wink."* 

From  the  above  we  may  rightly  infer  that  the  rejection  of 
faith  may  ultimately  lead  to  the  rejection  of  the  results,  and  the 
denial  of  the  accuracy  of  man's  reasoning  powers.  In  fact,  it 
appears  that  probably  as  many  philosophers  have  rejected  the  lat- 
ter as  have  disallowed  the  former.  There  is  at  least  as  strong  a 
presumption  in  favor  of  the  religious  sense  in  man,  as  in  the  power 
of  independent  thought.  One  is  at  first  as  prevalent  as  the  other. 
Sometimes  one  is  rejected,  sometimes  the  other,  sometimes  both. 
In  case  faith  is  neglected,  the  atheist  or  the  agnostic  is  produced; 
when  intellect  is  dwarfed,  the  religious  bigot  too  often  results; 
when  both  are  neglected,  the  result  is  nondescript,  and  incapable 


♦"Philosophical  Basis  of  Theism,"  p.  15. 


450  IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 

of  accurate  classification.  In  any  of  these  cases,  an  anomaly  is 
produced,  denyinoj  or  discrediting  one  or  more  of  his  natural  powers. 
And  the  unfortunate  fact  appears  that  this  insufficiency  of  his 
knowledge  is  most  keenly  felt,  when  completeness  of  apprehension 
is  most  necessary,  as  in  misfortune,  sickness,  and  approaching  death. 
At  such  time,  the  more  religious  a  man's  philosophy  has  been,  or 
the  more  philosophical  his  religion,  the  better  is  he  prepared  for 
the  crisis  that  awaits  him.  That  which  to  the  atheist  is  a  time  of 
dread,  or  to  the  bigot  a  time  of  doubtful  apprehension,  becomes  to 
the  man  of  faith  and  intellect  a  step  higher  in  misfortune  or  sick- 
ness, or,  in  death,  a  complete  surmounting  of  life's  difficulties,  and 
a  full  realization  of  its  desires. 

But  this  is  really  a  digression  from  the  subject  in  hand,  though 
in  one  sense  a  corollary  of  the  proposition  that  is  being  defended. 
The  aim  of  these  two  papers  has  been  to  show  that  instead  of  being 
at  enmity  and  deadly  warfare  with  science,  religion,  in  its  truest 
sense,  is  the  grand  whole  which  embraces  all  scientific  knowledge. 
Surely  it  is  an  anomaly  if  the  part  is  in  opposition  to  the  whole, 
or  vice  versa.  In  conclusion,  it  may  be  stated  that  there  is  a  special 
system  of  theology,  dealing  with  the  specific  laws  which  govern 
man's  religious  duties."  But  this  is  only  a  part  of  the  perfect  sys- 
tem of  thought  and  feeling  which  is  all-embracing  in  its  extent. 
It  is  so  to  speak,  the  ethical  element,  governing  the  practice  of 
divine  law;whereasthe  complete  system  embraces  philosophy, theory, 
and  the  higher  reaches  of  thought,  which  can  no  more  be  measured 
by  man's  puny  actions,  than  the  vast  reaches  of  infinite  space  can 
be  comprehended  by  his  unaided  vision.  It  is  this  illimitable  sys- 
tem of  thought  and  faith— this  infinity  of  knowledge, — "The  deep 
where  all  our  thoughts  are  drowned,"  which  may  be  justly  said  to 
include  all  knowledge  that  is  worth  the  knowing,  all  desire  that  is 
worth  the  feeling,  all  pov/er  that  is  worth  the  swaying.  In  this 
sense  the  term  is  used;  and  from  this  standpoint  the  crown- 
ing proposition  is  defended,  that  he  who  would  comprehend  human 
knowledge  in  its  entirety,  must  reach  a  comprehension,  at  least  in 
part,  of  the  divine,  which  stands  to  the  purely  human,  in  the  rela- 
tionship of  whole  to  part.  The  next  paper  will  be  devoted  to  a 
consideration  of  theology  as  a  branch  of  study. 


^^THE  MANUSCRIPT  FOUND/^ 

BY    PRESIDENT  JOSEPH   F.   SMITH. 


III. 

Note  how  carefully  the  foregoing  statements  are  drawn;  see 
how  minute  and  explicit  they  are  in  every  particular  to  prove  that 
the  Book  of  Mormon  is  identical  with  the  "Manuscript  Found."  It 
will  readily  be  seen  how  forceful  and  weighty  such  statements  must 
of  necessity  be,  coming  as  they  do  (supposedly)  from  so-called  cred- 
ible witnesses,  and  especially  from  the  brother  of  Solomon  Spauld- 
ing  the  author  of  the  very  innocent,  but  much  magnified  "Manu- 
script Found."  How  difficult  it  would  be  to  disprove  such  positive 
and  detailed  statements,  coming  from  such  apparently  authentic 
sources!  Had  the  "Manuscript  Found"  remained  unjound,  had  it 
been  destroyed,  so  that  the  truth  or  falsity  of  these  statements 
never  could  have  been  proven  by  comparison  with  the  Book  of  Mor- 
mon itself,  one  could  scarcely  blame  the  unthinking,  uninspired 
world  of  mankind  for  their  unbelief  in,  and  rejection  of, that  sacred 
book. 

But,  in  the  merciful  providence  of  God,  it  was  not  ordained 
that  the  world  should  be  left  in  such  ignorance;  and  now  that  the 
long-lost  "Manuscript  Story"  has  come  to  light,  there  is  no  longer 
the  least  shadow  of  excuse  for  such  unbelief,  on  the  grounds  so 
strongly  set  forth  by  the  relentless  opponents  of  the  Book  of  Mor- 
mon. 

The  long  concealment  of  this  silly  "Manuscript  Story"  seems 
to  have  been  designed  by  Providence  for  the  express  purpose  of 
emphasizing  this  point;  and  for  the  further  purpose  of  permitting 
the  more  perfect  development  of  the  deep-laid  schemes  of  wicked 


452  IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 

men,  inspired  by  the  great  enemy  of  all  truth,  in  their  vain  attempts 
to  overthrow  the  work  of  God  and  if  possible  to  destroy  it;  and  at 
last,  to  reveal  to  the  world  the  true  character  of  those  who  have 
engaged  in  the  despicable  undertaking  of  deceiving  mankind,  to- 
gether with  their  slanderous  and  villainous  methods  of  compassing 
their  pernicious  ends. 

There  are  other  statements  of  other  persons,  but  all  are  of 
the  same  purport  and  almost  the  same  language.  If  one  of  these 
statements  could  be  proven  true,  then  all  would  be  so  proven.  On 
the  contrary,  if  one  were  shown  to  be  false,  then  all  must  fall,  for 
they  all  testify,  almost  word  for  word,  to  the  same  alleged  facts. 

Nothing  further  should  be  necessary  to  prove  the  falsity  of 
the  affidavits  than  to  refer  the  reader  to  the  published  "Manuscript 
Found,"  but  as  many  may  not  have  access  to  the  "Story,"  it  will  be 
in  order  to  point  out  a  few  inaccuracies,  misstatements,  errors  and 
downright  falsehoods  contained  in  the  foregoing  affidavits.  This 
will  be  done  by  the  statement  of  facts,  and  by  quoting  witnesses 
that  cannot  be  impeached. 

No  sooner  did  Mr.  Fairchild  publish  his  letter,  announcing  the 
discovery  of  the  "Spaulding  Manuscript,"  and  make  the  startling 
declaration  that  "some  other  explanation  of  the  origin  of  the  Book 
of  Mormon  must  be  found,  if  any  explanation  is  required,"  than 
the  friends  of  the  "Spaulding  Story,"  and  the  determined  enemies 
of  the  Book  of  Mormon,  cried  out:  "Oh,  he  is  mistaken — it  is  not 
'The  Manuscript  Found.' "  In  this  way  they  sought  to  bolster  up 
their  pet  theories  and  deep-laid  schemes  to  deceive  the  world.  But 
their  craft  was  doomed. 

Mr.  Fairchild  himself  was  thoroughly  convinced  that  it  was 
the  veritable  Spaulding  romance  which  had  been  made  to  do  such 
duty  in  the  herculean  effort  to  destroy  the  Book  of  Mormon,  and 
"Mormonism."  He  says:  "There  seems  no  reason  to  doubt  that 
this  is  the  long-lost  story.  Mr.  Rice  and  myself  and  others  com- 
pared it  with  the  Book  of  Mormon  and  could  detect  no  resemblance 
between  the  two,  in  general  or  detail.  There  seems  to  be  no  name 
nor  incident  common  to  the  two.  The  solemn  style  of  the  Book 
of  Mormon  in  imitation  of  the  English  scriptures  does  not  appear 
in  the  'Manuscript.' " 

The  foregoing  shows  that  Mr.  James  H.  Fairchild,  president  of 


"THE  MANUSCRIPT  FOUND."  453 

the  Oberlin  College,  had  originally  been  convinced  that  the  "Manu- 
script Story"  was  indeed  the  origin  of  the  Book  of  Mormon,  and 
while,  perhaps,  as  eager  as  anybody  to  demonstrate  that  fact,  was 
greatly  surprised,  as  was  also  Mr.  L.  L.  Rice  (and  the  others  referred 
to  as  having  compared  it  with  the  Book  of  Mormon,)  to  find  that 
there  was  "no  resemblance  between  the  two  in  general  or  detail." 

It  also  shows  how  little  foundation  there  is,  or  ever  has  been, 
for  the  presumption  or  claim  that  it  was  the  foundation  or  source 
of  the  Book  of  Mormon.  Mr.  L.  L.  Rice,  himself  an  old  editor, 
literary  man  and  well-read  in  the  history  of  the  Latter-day  Saints, 
and  possessor  of  the  "Manuscript  Story,"  as  he  repeatedly  told  me, 
firmly  believed  it  to  be  the  only  writings  of  Solomon  Spaulding, 
and  the  veritable  "Manuscript  Found"  from  which  it  had  been  (and 
surprising  to  say,  still  is,)  claimed  the  Book  of  Mormon  was  derived. 
The  manner  in  which  this  "Manuscript"  came  into  Mr.  Rice's  hands 
has  been  related  in  the  fore-part  of  this  sketch.  D.  P.  Hurlburt 
obtained  the  "Manuscript"  in  1834,  from  Mr.  Jerome  Clark,  then 
residing  at  Hardwicks,  New  York,  in  whose  care  the  "Manuscript" 
had  been  left  by  Mrs.  Davison,  the  widow  of  Solomon  Spaulding, 
upon  an  order  given  by  her  to  Hurlburt  for  that  purpose.  At  this 
time,  there  was  no  other  manuscript  writings  of  Solomon  Spauld- 
ing in  existence. 

When  D.  P.  Hurlburt  obtained  the  "Manuscript,"  he  very 
naturally  proceeded  to  have  it  identified  by  living  witnesses,  and 
in  his  handwriting  the  following  inscription  is  found  thereon: 

"The  writings  of  Solomon  Spaulding,  proved  by  Aaron  Wright, 
Oliver  Smith,  John  Miller  and  others.  The  testimonies  of  the  above 
gentlemen  are  now  in  my  possession,     D.  P.  Hurlburt." 

Hurlburt  delivered  the  "Manuscript"  to  E.  D.  Howe  &  Co., 
printers,  in  Painesville,  Ohio. 

Mr.  L.  L.  Rice  made  the  following  statement  to  me  in  the  pres- 
ence of  Elder  Enoch  Farr,  in  Honolulu,  in  1885: 

"This  manuscript  came  into  my  possession  when  Mr.  Winchester 
and  I  bought  out  the  printing  establishment  of  Mr.  E,  D.  Howe,  in 
Painesville,  Ohio,  in  connection  with  a  large  amount  of  old  papers 
found  in  the  place  and  turned  over  to  us  with  it.  I  have  had  it 
ever  since  in  my  possession." 

It  is  curious  to  note  that  the  names  of  Aaron  Wright,  Oliver 


454  IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 

Smith  and  John  N.  Miller,  who,  with  others,  identified  the  "Manu- 
script Story"  delivered  to  D.  P.  Hurlburt,  as  the  veritable  "writings 
of  Solomon  Spaulding,"  are  atttached  to  some  of  the  foregoing 
statements,  taken  from  the  work  entitled,  "Who  Wrote  the  Book  of 
Mormon?"  and  said  to  be  copied  from  "Mormonism  Unveiled,"  which 
purports  to  have  been  written  by  E.  D.  Howe,  but  is  really  the  pro- 
duction of  that  corrupt  apostate  D.  P.  Hurlburt. 

In  the  light  of  facts  developed  by  the  discovery  of  the  "Spauld- 
ing Story,"  it  would  be  charitable  to  believe  those  statements  had 
been  forged,  and  their  names  attached  to  them  after  they  were 
dead,  by  some  unscrupulous  fanatic  whose  conscienceless  soul 
would  shrink  from  no  crime  in  order  to  accomplish  his  purpose. 

Those  men,  "and  others,"  as  stated  by  Hurlburt,  without  doubt 
knew,  in  1834,  when  they  gave  their  testimony  respecting  the 
writings  of  Solomon  Spaulding,  what  they  were  doing— simply  this, 
and  nothing  more:— That  the  "Manuscript  Story,"  delivered  to  D. 
P.  Hurlburt  by  Jerome  Clark,  on  the  order  of  Mrs  Davison,  Spauld- 
ing's  widow,  was  nothing  more  or  less  than  the  "writtings  of  Solomon 
Spaulding."  This  is  sufficient  to  identify  the  same  for  all  time. 
The  history  of  the  "Manuscript"  and  the  endorsements  upon  it, 
with  the  opinions  of  such  men  as  Mr.  L.  L.  Rice,  President  James 
H.  Fairchild  and  others  attest  that  fact. 

Mr.  R.  Patterson,  author  of  "Who  Wrote  the  Book  of  Mormon," 
sets  forth  that  Messrs.  Wright,  Smith  and  Miller  made  the  state- 
ments over  their  names,  in  1833.  If  this  were  true,  then  those 
men  could  never  have  heard  Spaulding  read  his  "Manuscript  Story," 
which  they  certify  to  as  being  his  writings,  for  there  is  not  one 
word  in  the  "Manuscript,"  bearing  any  similarity  or  likeness  to  the 
Book  of  Mormon;  nor  could  they  have  read  the  "Manuscript  Story" 
themselves  and  then  have  made  such  statements,  without  knowing 
they  were  deliberately  lying.  The  affidavits  themselves,  as  proven 
by  the  now  open  contents  of  the  "Manuscript  Story,"  are  deliberate, 
unqualified  falsehoods,  without  a  scintilla  of  truth  in  them.  It  is 
scarcely  possible  to  think  that  a  number  of  otherwise  reputable 
men  would  combine  to  put  forth  such  base  statements.  It  is  more 
probable  that  some  fanatical  opponent  of  The  Church,  an  enemy  to 
the  truth,  without  conscience  or  scruple,  concocted  those  state- 


"THE  MANUSCRIPT  FOUND."  455 

ments,  after  those  men  were  dead,  and  put  the  falsehoods  into  their 
speechless  mouths. 

Mr.  Robert  Patterson,  author  of  "Who  Wrote  the  Book  of  Mor- 
mon," in  the  outset  of  his  attempt  to  prove  it  to  have  been  a 
plagiarism  from  "Spaulding's  Story,"  says: 

In  our  enquiries  upon  the  first  point,  a  merited  tribute  should  be  paid 
to  the  value  of  Mr.  E.  D.  Howe's  "Mormonism  Unveiled,"  issued  by  its 
author  at  Painesville,  Ohio,  in  1835,  only  five  years  after  the  publication 
at  Palmyra,  New  York,  of  the  Book  of  Mormon  by  Joseph  Smith.  Mr. 
Howe's  was  the  pioneer  upon  this  subject,  and,  though  long  out  of  print, 
the  few  copies  extant  are  still  the  storehouse  from  which  successive  investi- 
gators derive  their  most  important  facts.  It  contains  the  statement  of 
eight  witnesses  whose  testimonials  were  obtained  in  1833,  twenty-one 
years  after  Mr.  Spaulding  left  Connecticut,  seventeen  years  after  his 
death,  and  three  years  after  the  appearance  of  the  Book  of  Mormon. 
Their  authenticity  has  never  been  impeached. 

It  will  readily  be  seen  what  credence  may  be  placed  in  these 
"eight  testimonials"  when  the  fact  is  known  that  D.  P.  Hurlburt,  a 
corrupt  and  malignant  apostate,  cut   off  from  The  Church  for 
immoral  conduct,  is  the  real  author  of  E.  D.  Howe's  "Mormonism 
Unveiled,"  and  that  while  he  was  concocting  the  "testimonials"  and 
by  and  with  the  aid  of  Mr.  E.  D.  Howe,  was  preparing  his  infamous 
book,    "Mormonism  Unveiled"  for  publication,   the   "Manuscript 
Found,"  the  "Manuscript  Story,"  "the  writings  of  Solomon  Spauld- 
ing," were  all  in  their  hands  in  Mr.  E.  D.  Howe's  printing  establish- 
ment at  Painesville;  and  were  brought  there  about  one  year  before 
this  book  was  published,  by  D.  P.  Hurlburt,  for  the  express  purpose 
of  being  used,  if  possible,  to  prove  the  plagiarism  which  Mr.  Pat- 
terson in  his  work  was  so  anxious  to  prove.     But  it  was  found  that 
the  only  way  the  "Spaulding  Story"  could  be  made  available  was  to 
suppress  it,  to  treat  it  as  lost,  as  "sold  to  the  Mormons  and 
destroyed  by  them,"  as  the  story  runs;  then  draw  upon  the  cun- 
ning resources  of  the  author  or  authors  of  "Mormonism  Unveiled," 
and  conjure  up  the  "testimonials"  of  "old  neighbors  of  Spauldmg" 
to  prove  that  Solomon  Spaulding  wrote  the  Book  of  Mormon,  m- 
tending  to  destroy  the  "writings  of  Solomon  Spaulding"  which  were 
in  their  hands,  thereby  obliterating  all  possible  evidence  which 


456  IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 

those  writing  might  contain,  of  their  deep-laid  schemes  to 
deceive  the  world  and  escape  exposure. 

But  Cowper  is  right.  "God  moves  in  a  mysterious  way  his 
wonders  to  perform,"  and  so  "Spaulding's  writings"  escaped  the 
destruction  intended  for  them  by  Hurlburt,  Howe  &  Co.,  and  by 
all  other  schemers,  in  this  cunningly-devised  plot  to  defeat  the 
divine  purpose,  and  in  due  time  they  were  again  brought  forth  to 
show  how  crafty,  how  vile,  how  unscrupulous,  desperate  and  damn- 
able are  the  ways  of  those  who  oppose  the  truth. 

Let  us  review  the  statement  of  one  of  these  pretended  wit- 
nesses. We  will  take  the  testimony  of  John  Spaulding,  brother  of 
Solomon.     He  says: 

It  was  a  historical  romance  of  the  first  settlers  of  America,  endeav- 
ing  to  show  that  the  American  Indians  are  the  descendants  of  the  Jews 
or  the  lost  tribes. 

The  fact  is,  there  is  not  one  word  in  the  "Manuscript  Story" 
about  the  Indians  having  descended  from  the  Jews.  Indeed,  after 
having  read  it,  and  copied  a  large  part  of  it  with  my  own  hand,  1 
cannot  recall  a  single  reference  to  the  Jews  in  the  whole  story. 
Again: 

It  gave  a  detailed  account  of  their  journey  from  Jerusalem  by  land 
and  sea,  till  they  arrived  in  America,  under  the  command  of  Nephi  and 
Lehi. 

This  is  made  out  of  whole  cloth.  "Spaulding's  Story"  begins 
at  Rome,  not  at  Jerusalem.  The  words  Nephi,  Lehi,  Nephites  and 
Lamanites  do  not  occur  at  all  in  "Spaulding's  Story,"  nor  are  there 
any  names  remotely  resembling  them,  as  the  "Manuscript"  itself 
attests.    Then  Mr.  John  Spaulding  is  made  to  say: 

I  have  recently  read  the  Book  of  Mormon,  and  to  my  surprise,  I  find 
nearly  the  same  historical  matter,  names,  etc.,  as  they  were  in  my 
brother's  writings. 

How  very  differently  Messrs.  Fairchild  and  Rice  viewed  this 
same  matter  when  they  compared  his  "brother's  writings"  with  the 
Book  of  Mormon!  They  saw  "no  resemblance  between  the  two,  in 
general  or  detail."    Again,  Mr.  J.  Spaulding  is  made  to  say: 

I  well  remember  that  he  (Solomon)  wrote  in  the  old  style,  and  com- 
menced about  every  sentence  with,  "And  it  came  to  pass,"  or,  "Now  it 
came  to  pass,'  the  same  as  in  the  Book  of  Mormon,  etc." 


"THE  MANUSCRIPT  FOUND."  4E7 

How  very  unfortunate  it  is  for  the  author  of  the  foregoing^ 
whether  he  was  John  Spaulding  or  Robert  Patterson,  or  some 
other  person  who  may  have  put  such  cunning  words  into  his  mouth, 
that  the  phrases,  "And  it  came  to  pass,"  or,  "Now  it  came  to  pass" 
do  not  occur  anywhere  in  the  ''Manuscript  Found,"  much  less 
"commencing  about  every  sentence." 

And  thus  every  testimony  of  these  alleged  credible  witnesses 
might  be  controverted,  but  this  one  is  enough  to  show  the  falsity 
of  all,  owing  to  their  similarity.  The  example  suffices  to  disprove 
the  great  point  which  Mr.  Patterson  desired  to  establish;  namely, 
that  the  historical  portions  of  the  Book  of  Mormon  were  certainly 
derived  from  the  Spaulding  manuscript.  The  foregoing  clearly 
and  forever  proves  that  his  point  is  not  sustained,  and  that  the 
historical  portions  of  the  Book  of  Mormon  are  not  derived  from 
Spaulding's  writings. 

I  have  proved  that  the  story  in  possession  of  Mr.  Rice  was 
the  self-same  document  that  Mr.  Spaulding  wrote;  that  this  story 
is  now  in  print  and  may  be  read  by  all;  that  it  contains  neither 
names  nor  subject  matter  that  resemble  anything  within  the  pages 
of  the  Book  of  Mormon;  that  the  testimonies  given  in  the  book  of 
Mr.  Patterson  are  self-evidently  false  and  contradictory,  being  based 
not  upon  what  the  witnesses  themselves  knew,  but  rather  upon 
the  cunningly  devised  conspiracy  and  lies  of  men  who  combined 
to  destroy  the  value  of  the  Book  of  Mormon,  but  who  were 
thwarted  in  their  designs  by  the  mysterious  providences  of  God. 

There  remains  nothing  further  to  do  than  to  add  my  testi- 
mony, which  I  do,  that  the  Book  of  Mormon  is  of  divine  origin; 
that  it  was  revealed  to  Joseph  the  Prophet  by  an  angel  of  God; 
and  translated  from  the  plates  by  the  power  of  God,  and  is  given 
to  the  world  for  the  benefit  and  salvation  of  mankind. 


THE    LIFE  AND  LABORS   OF   SIDNEY 
RIGDON. 

BY  JOHN  JAQUES,  ASSISTANT  CHURCH  HISTORIAN. 


V. 

At  a  meeting  in  Nauvoo,  on  Sunday,  October  22,  1843,  Elder 
Rigdon  preached  half  an  hour  on  "Poor  Rich  Folks."  He  also 
preached  there  November  5.  On  the  29th,  he  spoke  at  a  meeting 
of  citizens  of  Nauvoo,  to  adopt  a  memorial  to  Congress  in  regard 
to  the  Missouri  troubles. 

January  30,  1844,  a  Millerite  preached  in  the  Assembly  Room 
to  a  full  house,  and  Elder  Rigdon  replied  to  him. 

Sidney  Rigdon,  postmaster,  published  a  lengthy  appeal  to  the 
Legislature  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  setting  forth  the  griev- 
ances he  had  suffered  through  the  persecution  against  The  Church 
by  the  State  of  Missouri,  concluding  as  follows: 

"Under  all  these  circumstances,  your  memorialist  prays  to  be 
heard  by  your  honorable  body  touching  all  the  matters  of  his  memo- 
rial. And  as  a  memorial  will  be  presented  to  Congress  this  session  for 
redress  of  our  grievances,  he  prays  your  honorable  body  will  instruct 
the  whole  delegation  of  Pennsylvania,  in  both  houses,  to  use  all  their 
influence  in  the  national  councils  to  have  redress  granted." 

On  February  6,  Joseph,  Hyrum,  Sidney  and  the  twelve  apos- 
tles, and  their  wives,  had  supper  and  a  pleasant  time  at  Elder  John 
Taylor's. 

Joseph,  Hyrum  and  Sidney  met  with  the  twelve  apostles  in 
the  Assembly  Room  on  the  23rd,  concerning  the  contemplated 
Oregon  and  California  Exploring  Expedition.     Joseph  said:     "I 


THE  LIFE  AND  LABORS  OF  SIDNEY  RIGDON.        459 

told  them  I  wanted  an  exploration  of  all  that  mountain  country. 
Perhaps  it  would  be  best  to  go  direct  to  Santa  Fe.  Send  twenty- 
five  men:  let  them  preach  the  Gospel  wherever  they  go.  Let  that 
man  go  that  can  raise  $500,  a  good  horse  and  mule,  a  double-bar- 
rel gun,  one  barrel  rifle,  and  the  other  smooth  bore,  a  saddle  and 
bridle,  a  pair  of  revolving  pistols,  bowie  knife  and  a  good  sabre. 
Appoint  a  leader,  and  let  him  beat  up  for  volunteers.  I  want 
every  man  that  goes  to  be  a  king  and  a  priest.  When  he  gets  on 
the  mountains,  he  may  want  to  talk  with  his  God;  when  with  the 
-savage  nations,  have  power  to  govern,  etc.  If  we  don't  get  vol- 
unteers, wait  till  after  the  election."  A  number  of  brethren  vol- 
unteered to  go. 

On  the  evening  of  Sunday,  25th,  at  a  prayer  meeting  in  the 
Assembly  Room,  Joseph  said,  evidently  in  reference  to  the  same 
subject,  "I  gave  some  important  instructions,  and  prophesied  that 
within  five  years  we  should  be  out  of  the  power  of  our  old  enemies, 
whether  they  were  apostates  or  of  the  world,  and  told  the  breth- 
ren to  record  it,  that  when  it  comes  to  pass  they  need  not  say 
they  had  forgotten  the  saying." 

Sidney  Rigdon  met  Joseph  and  several  other  brethren  in  coun- 
cil in  the  Assembly  Room,  March  19.  On  Sunday,  24  th,  Sidney 
addressed  the  meeting  at  the  stand. 

Elder  Rigdon  attended  conference,  April  6,  and  addressed 
the  audience,  morning  and  afternoon.     In  commencing,  he  said: 

"It  is  with  no  ordinary  degree  of  satisfaction.  I  enjoy  this 
privilege  this  morning.  Want  of  health  and  other  circumstances 
have  kept  me  in  silence  for  nearly  the  last  five  years.  It  can 
hardly  be  expected  that  when  the  violence  of  sickness  has  used  its 
influence,  and  the  seeds  of  disease  have  so  long  preyed  upon  me, 
that  I  can  rise  before  this  congregation,  only  in  weakness.  I  am 
now  come  forth  from  a  bed  of  sickness,  and  have  enough  of 
strength  left  to  appear  here  for  the  first  time  in  my  true  char- 
acter. I  have  not  come  before  a  conference  for  the  last  five  years 
in  my  true  character.  I  shall  consider  this  important  privilege 
sacred  in  my  family  history  during  life." 

He  continued  relating  incidents  connected  with  the  history 
oi  The  Church,  testifying  to  its  being  the  work  of  God,  and  he 
(Sidney)  had  gazed  in  visions  on  the  glory  of  God  in  days  gone  by. 


460  IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 

He  also  addressed  the  conference  on  Sunday,  7th,  and  on  the  8th. 

A  meeting  was  held  at  the  stand,  on  the  27th,  to  give  instruc- 
tions to  the  elders  going  out  electioneering.  President  Rigdon 
and  William  Smith  addressed  the  meeting. 

On  the  8th  of  May,  in   the  case  of  Francis  M.  Higbee  vs. 
Joseph  Smith,  before  the  municipal  court  of  Nauvoo,  on  writ  of 
habeas  corpus,  Sidney  Rigdon  was  one  of  the  counsel  for  Smith 
and  was  also  one  of  the  witnesses. 

Joseph  and  Sidney  attended  a  prayer  meeting  on  the  11th. 

At  a  state  convention  in  the  Assembly  Hall,  on  the  17th,  Sid- 
ney Rigdon  addressed  the  meeting.  It  was  voted  that  General 
Joseph  Smith  be  the  choice  of  the  convention  for  President  of  the 
United  States,  and  Sidney  Rigdon,  Esq.,  for  Vice-President. 

Writs  were  expected  from  Carthage,  on  the  25th,  for  the 
arrest  of  Joseph  Smith,  on  two  indictments,  one  charging  false 
swearing,  on  the  testimony  of  Joseph  H.  Jackson  and  Robert  D. 
Foster,  and  the  other  charging  "polygamy  or  something  else," 
on  the  testimony  of  William  Law.  Francis  M.  Higbee  had  sworn 
so  hard  that  Joseph  had  received  stolen  property,  that  Higbee's 
testimony  was  rejected.  After  a  long  talk  with  Edward  Hunter, 
Hyrum  Smith,  Dr.  W.  Richards,  William  Marks,  Almon  W.  Bab- 
bitt, Shadrach  Roundy,  Edward  Bonney  and  others,  Joseph  con- 
cluded not  to  keep  out  of  the  way  of  the  officers  any  longer. 

The  same  day,  Sidney  Rigdon  resigned  the  office  of  Post- 
master of  Nauvoo,  and  recommended  Joseph  Smith  as  his  successor. 

On  the  14th  of  June,  Sidney  Rigdon  wrote  to  Governor  Ford 
on  the  situation  in  Nauvoo  and  adjacent  places,  relating  the  Nau- 
voo Expositor  matters  and  suggesting  the  dispersing  of  all  uncalled 
for  assemblies,  and  letting  the  laws  have  their  regular  course. 
Sidney  concluded  thus:  "I  send  this  to  your  excellency  as  confi- 
dential, as  I  wish  not  to  take  any  part  in  the  affair,  or  be  known 
in  it." 

Joseph  Smith  was  arrested,  June  25,  by  Constable  David  Bet- 
tisworth,  on  a  charge  of  treason  against  the  State  of  Illinois,  on  a 
writ  granted  the  day  before,  upon  the  oath  of  Augustine  Spencer. 
Hyrum  was  arrested  the  same  day,  on  a  similar  charge,  on  a  writ 
granted  on  the  24th,  on  the  affidavit  of  Henry  0.  Norton.  The 
two  prisoners  were  taken  to  Carthage  jail. 


THE  LIFE  AND  LABORS  OF  SIDNEY  RIGDON.        461 

On  the  26th,  Joseph  said:  "Poor  Rigdon,  I  am  glad  he  is  gone 
to  Pittsburg,  out  of  the  way;  were  he  to  preside,  he  would  lead  the 
Church  to  destruction  in  less  than  five  years."  It  might  have  been 
said  before,  that  when  they  were  in  Ohio,  returning  to  Kirtland 
from  a  mission  to  Canada,  in  1837,  Joseph  carried  Sidney,  who 
was  sick,  weak  and  scared,  upon  his  (Joseph's)  back  and  waded  in 
the  night  through  a  swampy  cross-country,  and  they  thus  escaped 
from  mobocratic  enemies,  who  were  waiting  in  the  regular  road 
to  seize  them. 

Joseph  and  Hyrum  were  shot  and  murdered  in  Carthage  Jail 
by  the  mob,  on  the  evening  of  the  27th. 

"Murder  most  foul,  as  at  the  best  it  is."  But  this  in  spite  of 
honor's  sacred  pledge  of  safety,  given  by  the  governor.  An  ever- 
lasting blot  on  Illinois'  escutcheon. 

Willard  Richards  and  John  Taylor  were  with  them  in  jail  when 
the  crime  was  Committed.  Brother  Taylor  was  shot  and  severely 
wounded  by  the  mob,  at  the  same  time. 

Upon  that  fatal  day,  of  the  twelve,  Brighara  Young,  Orson 
Hyde,  and  Wilford  Woodruff  were  in  Boston;  Heber  C.  Kimball 
and  Lyman  Wight  were  in  Philadelphia  and  New  York;  P.  P.  Pratt 
was  on  a  canal  boat  between  Utica  and  Buffalo,  N.  Y.;  George  A. 
Smith  was  in  Jackson  Co.,  Michigan,  and  Amasa  Lyman  was  in 
Cincinnati.     On  hearing  the  sad  news,  they  started  for  Nauvoo. 

President  Sidney  Rigdom  arrived  at  Nauvoo  from  Pittsburg, 
August  3.  Elders  P.  P.  Pratt,  W.  Richards  and  Geo.  A.  Smith 
invited  him  to  meet  in  council  on  the  morning  of  the  4th,  which  he 
agreed  to. 

On  Sunday,  4th,  Elders  Pratt,  Richards  and  Smith,  met  in 
council  and  waited  an  hour  for  Elder  Rigdon,  who  excused  himself 
afterwards  by  saying  he  was  engaged  with  a  lawyer. 

At  10  a.  m.,  at  the  meeting  at  the  stand,  "Elder  Rigdon 
preached  from  the  words:  'For  my  thoughts  are  not  as  your 
thoughts,  neither  are  your  ways  my  ways,  saith  the  Lord.'  He 
related  a  vision  which  he  said  the  Lord  had  shown  him  concerning 
the  situation  of  The  Church,  and  said  there  must  be  a  guardian 
appointed  to  build  The  Church  up  to  Joseph,  as  he  had  begun  it. 
"He  said  he  was  the  identical  man  that  the  ancient  prophets 
had  sung  about,  wrote  and  rejoiced  over,  and  that  he  was  sent  to 


462  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

do  the  identical  work  that  had  been  the  theme  of  all  the  prophets 
in  every  preceding  generation.  He  said  that  the  Lord's  ways 
were  not  as  our  ways,  for  the  Lord  said  He  would  'Hiss  for  the 
fly  from  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  rivers  of  Egypt,  and  for  the 
bee  that  is  in  the  land  of  Assyria/  and  thereby  destroy  his  enemies; 
that  the  time  was  near  at  hand  when  he  would  see  one  hundred 
tons  of  metal  per  second  thrown  at  the  enemies  of  God,  and  that 
the  blood  would  be  to  the  horses'  bridles;  and  that  he  expected  to 
walk  into  the  palace  of  Queen  Victoria  and  lead  her  out  by  the 
nose,  when  no  one  would  have  the  power  to  say,  'Why  do  ye  so?' 
and,  if  it  were  not  for  two  or  three  things  which  he  knew,  this 
people  would  be  utterly  destroyed,  and  not  a  soul  left  to  tell  the 
tale." 

His  talking  in  this  strain  showed  that  his  mind  was  failing. 

"Elder  P.  P.  Pratt  in  referring  to  the  remarks  of  Brother 
Rigdon,  on  a  subsequent  occasion,  said,  *I  am  the  identical  man  the 
prophets  never  sang  nor  wrote  a  word  about.' " 

In  the  afternoon,  "Elder  William  Marks,  president  of  the 
Stake,  gave  public  notice  (at  the  request  of  Elder  Rigdon)  that 
there  would  be  a  special  meeting  of  The  Church  at  the  stand,  on 
Thursday,  the  8th  instant,  for  the  purpose  of  choosing  a  guardian 
(president  and  trustees). 

"Dr.  Richards  proposed  waiting  till  the  twelve  apostles 
returned,  and  told  the  Saints  to  ask  wisdom  of  God. 

"Elder  Grover  proposed  waiting  to  examine  the  revelation. 

"Elder  Marks  said  President  Rigdon  wanted  the  meeting  on 
Tuesday,  but  he  put  it  off  till  Thursday;  that  Elder  Rigdon  was 
some  distance  from  his  family,  and  wanted  to  know  if  this  people 
had  anything  for  him  to  do:  if  not,  he  wanted  to  go  on  his  way, 
for  there  was  a  people  numbering  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands 
who  would  receive  him;  that  he  wanted  to  visit  other  branches 
around,  but  he  had  come  here  first. 

"Elder  Rich  called  upon  William  Clayton,  and  said  he  was 
dissatisfied  with  the  hurried  movement  of  Elder  Rigdon.  He  con- 
sidered, inasmuch  as  the  twelve  had  been  sent  for  and  were  soon 
expected  home,  the  notice  for  meeting  was  premature,  and  it 
seemed  to  him  a  plot  laid  to  take  advantage  of  the  situation  of  the 
Saints." 


THE  SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR. 


BY  DR.  J.  M.  TANNER,  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  STATE  AGRICULTURAL  COL- 
LEGE, LOGAN,  UTAH. 

V. 

As  soon  as  it  became  evident  to  Great  Britain  that  the  first 
expedition  of  the  troops  to  South  Africa  were  insufficient  to 
accomplish  the  purposes  of  the  campaign,  the  number  of  soldiers 
was  very  materially  increased,  and,  after  repeated  defeats  of  both 
General  Buller  and  Lord  Methuen,  the  English  concluded  to  make 
a  still  further  increase  of  the  army  and  place  it  under  the  direc- 
tion and  control  of  England's  greatest  soldier,  Lord  Roberts.  As 
Lord  Roberts  would  necessarily  need  the  aid  of  railroads,  since  the 
mobilization  of  the  army  was  a  matter  of  great  interest  and  im- 
portance to  the  strategic  movements  of  his  forces,  Lord  Kitchener 
was  dispatched  to  his  assistance.  Lord  Kitchener  had  made  a 
great  reputation  as  an  engineer  in  the  campaign  against  the  Mahdi 
on  the  upper  Nile.  For  weeks  and  weeks  every  effort  of  General 
Buller  to  break  the  barriers  at  the  Tugela  River  in  Natal,  and 
Lord  Methuen's  efforts  to  move  beyond  the  Modder  were  success- 
fully frustrated  by  the  Boer  armies. 

The  most  important  campaign  of  the  last  thirty  days  has  been 
that  waged  by  Lord  Roberts  for  the  Relief  of  Kimberley  and  the 
defeat  of  General  Cronje's  army.  After  Lord  Roberts  had  secured 
an  army  of  about  forty-five  or  fifty  thousand  soldiers,  variously 
estimated,  he  undertook  an  attack  upon  General  Cronje  with  a  view 
of  giving  to  Kimberley  immediate  relief.  As  soon  as  this  enormous 
army  had  been  concentrated  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of 


464  IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 

Cronje's  men,  the  latter  became  perfectly  aware  that  his  position 
was  untenable  and  therefore  made  immediate  preparations  for  the 
relief  of  his  artillery,  which  it  was  his  purpose  to  prevent  from 
falling  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  The  artillery  and  a  certain 
number  of  men — the  number  at  this  time  cannot  be  definitely 
stated— withdrew  from  the  Boer  forces  with  a  view  to  escape,  and 
especially  with  a  view  of  protecting  their  artillery  which  it  was 
hoped  might  be  placed  beyond  the  reach  of  the  English,  to  be  used 
later  on  in  a  defense  of  the  Republics  against  the  attacks  of  the 
English.  The  English  had  so  recruited  their  cavalry  as  to  make 
it  impossible  for  Cronje  to  escape. 

On  the  15th  of  February,  General  French  succeeded  in  marching 
into  Kimberley,  the  Boers  having  retired  after  finding  that  it  was 
impossible  to  maintain  their  position  any  longer  in  this  siege. 
Then  began  what  will  undoubtedly  be  known  in  history  as  one  of 
the  most  celebrated  retreats  and  defenses  ever  offered  by  heroic 
army.  With  an  army  of  four  thousand  men,  General  Cronje  for 
upwards  of  ten  days  withstood  the  English  and  made  it  possible 
for  a  portion  of  his  men  to  escape  with  their  artillery.  This  de- 
fense is  remarkable,  too,  from  the  fact  that  it  was  conducted 
without  the  aid  of  any  artillery  whatever.  Little  by  little,  Cronje 
made  his  retreat  in  the  direction  of  the  capital  of  the  Orange 
Free  State  until  he  reached  a  place  called  Paardeberg,  in  the  bend 
of  the  Modder  river.  Here  he  began  a  system  of  defense  by  bur- 
rowing into  the  sand  and  so  entrenching  his  men  that  the  artillery 
fire  had  but  little  effect  upon  them.  The  Boers  were  surrounded  on 
all  sides.  They  had  in  their  camp  women  and  children  and  a  limited 
amount  of  provisions.  The  most  they  could  do  was  to  wait  the 
attack  of  the  enemy,  who  when  he  appeared  within  a  sufficiently 
close  range,  was  fired  on  by  the  Boers  who  were  entrenched  in  the 
embankments  which  they  had  made  for  their  defense.  The  British, 
however,  had  at  their  command  every  aid  of  modern  warfare. 
With  their  baloons  they  were  able  to  ascend  to  a  distance  beyond 
the  reach  of  the  Boer  gun,  and  there  look  down  with  their  glasses 
upon  the  entrenched  Boers  and  furnish  information  to  the  besieg- 
ing army.  It  became  evident  to  all  the  world  that  Cronje's  posi- 
tion could  not  be  very  long  maintained;  but  the  marvel  of  it  was 
that  he  should  hold  out  day  after  day  against  the  expectations  of 


THE  SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR.  465 

every  one.  Finally  he  surrendered.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that 
Cronje's  defeat  and  surrender  was  attended  with  certain  advan- 
tages which  he  derived  in  placing  his  artillery,  and  perhaps  a  cer- 
tain number  of  men,  beyond  the  reach  of  the  English. 

It  is  impossible  to  say  just  how  large  the  Boer  forces  are. 
There  are  no  available  statistics,  and  the  numbers  given  to  us  are 
of  the  roughest  sort  of  estimates;  they  may  be  taken  as  mere 
guesses.  Cronje  is  said  to  have  had  as  many  as  twelve  thousand 
men.  This  was  the  number  given  by  the  early  English  critics. 
That  number  was  given  when  the  English  were  excusing  Lord 
Methuen's  inability  to  make  any  further  headway.  If  it  be  true 
that  Cronje  had  that  number  of  men,  it  is  evident  that  the  British 
got  but  a  small  fraction  of  his  army.  Others  estimated  the  army 
as  eight  thousand — probably  a  more  correct  estimate.  But  even 
if  that  estimate  is  to  be  accepted  as  correct,  then  it  is  evident 
that  he  must  have  succeeded  well  in  liberating  a  considerable  por- 
tion of  his  army  before  his  final  surrender. 

The  battle,  then,  of  Paardeberg  and  the  surrender  of  General 
Cronje  constitute  another  important  landmark  in  the  history  of  the 
South  African  war.  This  surrender  occurred  on  the  27th  of  Febru- 
ary, twelve  days  after  the  relief  of  Kimberly  and  on  the  anniver- 
sary of  the  battle  of  Majuba  Hill,  where  the  English,  in  1881,  had 
met  terrible  defeat  at  the  hands  of  the  Boers. 

The  day  following  Cronje's  surrender,  news  of  the  relief  of 
Ladysmith  came,  and  England  now  went  wild  with  joy.     For  week 
after  week  General  Buller  had  been  massing  troops  on  the  frontier 
of  Natal  and  had  made  his  way,  little  by  little,  across  the  Tugela 
and  over  the  kopjes  in  the  direction  of  the  beleaguered  city  of 
Ladysmith.     For  months,  this  garrison  had  been  under  constant 
fire  and  their  provisions  had  become  now  so  exhausted  that  Gen- 
eral White  informs  us  that  he  could  hardly  have  held  out  beyond 
the  2nd  of  April.     The  rations  had  fallen  to  half  a  pound  of  meal 
a  day  and  the  ranks  were  decimated  by  disease,  and  the  belea- 
guered garrison  were  falling  more  and  more  into  a  desperate  condi- 
tion.   This  relief  was  a  most  fortunate  one  as  it  might  have 
resulted  in  the  loss  of  thousands  of  lives  had  it  been  delayed 
many  days  longer.    Twelve  thousand  troops  early  in  the  campaign 
had  been  shut  up  in  this  fort,  and  it  was  the  purpose  of  Lord 


466  IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 

Buller  to  relieve  this  portion  of  the  English  army.  But  it  is  said 
to  have  cost  him  something  like  four  thousand  men.  Of  course, 
these  losses  are  not  large  when  compared  with  those  that  befell 
the  people  of  the  United  States  during  the  civil  war,  or  with  those 
that  befell  the  French  and  Germans  during  the  Franco-Prussian 
war  of  1870-71.  When,  however,  the  horrors  of  modern  warfare 
are  considered,  and  the  small  number  of  those  opposing  the  Eng- 
lish, are  taken  into  account,  the  loss  seems  indeed  unfortunate. 

The  English  now  have  relieved  the  two  most  important  garri- 
sons. Mafeking  is  still  besieged,  though  it  is  thought  that  any 
day  news  of  the  relief  of  that  garrison  may  be  announced.  Since 
the  relief  of  Ladysmith  and  Kimberly,  the  fighting,  for  the  most 
part,  has  been  in  the  Republic  of  the  Orange  Free  State  and 
within  about  twenty  miles  of  its  capital,  Bloemfontein.  It  is 
hardly  possible  that  the  Boers  intend  to  make  any  prolonged  and 
stubborn  resistance  against  the  march  of  Lord  Roberts  with  his 
fifty  thousand  soldiers  to  secure  the  Orange  Free  State  capital. 
From  a  political  point  of  view,  the  fall  of  the  capital  may  have 
some  importance.  It  may  dampen  the  ardor  of  some  of  the  Free 
Staters.  But  its  capture  will  have  no  strategic  importance  what- 
ever. Its  location  and  surroundings  are  not  adapted  for  a  prolonged 
defense.  The  resistance  of  the  Boers  in  that  part  of  Africa  has 
no  doubt  another  purpose  than  that  of  an  attempt  to  prevent  the 
fall  of  Bloemfontein,  and  though  their  resistance  is  not  a  stubborn 
one,  resulting  in  considerable  loss  to  the  English,  it  must  be  evident 
that  the  Boers  are  somewhere  concentrating  their  forces  and  so 
arranging  their  part  of  the  campaign  as  to  force  an  attack  where 
they  will  have  the  best  opportunities  of  defense. 

The  world  just  now  is  curious  to  know  where  the  Boer  army 
is  concentrated,  whether  somewhere  at  the  Vaal  river,  or  whether 
they  are  making  preparations  for  a  final  stand  at  Johannesburg — 
the  great  mining  camp — and  Pretoria,  the  capital  of  the  Transvaal. 
If  the  Boers  are  determined  to  resist  to  the  end,  it  is  not  unlikely 
that  the  siege  of  Pretoria  may  prove  to  be  one  of  the  most  inter- 
esting in  the  annals  of  the  war.  Upon  the  fortifications  of  this 
capital  and  the  ability  of  the  Boers  to  offer  a  prolonged  resistance, 
I  shall  have  something  to  say  in  another  article. 

Not  the  least  interesting  of  the  features  of  this  war  are  the 


THE  SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR.  467 

sentiments  engendered  throughout  continental  Europe,  and  espe- 
cially of  the  opinions  entertained  by  the  American  people.     The 
people  of  England  are  not  altogether  agreed  upon  the  necessity  of 
this  unfortunate  war,  but  they  are  practically  agreed  upon  the 
intention  of  pursuing  it  to  a  successful  issue.     In  London,  a  num- 
ber of  the  leading  editors  have   resigned  their  positions  rather 
than  support  the  policy  of  the  paper  against  the  pronounced  con- 
victions they  hold  upon  the  injustice  of  the  war.     A  peace  com- 
mittee in  England  has  gotten  out  an  appeal.     In  that  appeal  a 
demand  is  made  for  a  cessation  of  hostilities   and   a   complete 
abandonment  of  the  war.     It  is  not  necessary  to  say  that  such  an 
appeal  will  prove  entirely  futile;   the  committe  represents  but  an 
insignificant  minority,  and  has  not  behind  it  sufficient  leadership  to 
give  it  any  grave   consideration   at  the   hands   of  the  English 
government.     The   address  sent   out,  however,   is   important   as 
illustrating  the  views  entertained  by  the  extreme  opponents  of  the 
war.     I  submit  this  report  as  illustrating  the  feeling  of  the  strong 
anti-war  party,  or,  perhaps,  I  should  say  faction,  now  contending 
for  the  cessation  of  hostilities: 
To  Our  Fellow-Countrymen: 

We  appeal  to  you  to  stop  the  war.  It  is  an  unjust  war  which  ought 
never  to  have  been  provoked.  It  is  a  war  in  which  we  have  nothing  to 
gain,  everything  to  lose.  To  "put  it  through"  merely  because  we  are 
in  it  is  to  add  crime  to  crime. 

And  all  for  what?  Why  are  our  sons  and  our  brothers  killing  and 
being  killed  in  South  Africa?  Why  are  happy  homes  made  desolate, 
wives  widowed,  and  children  left  fatherless? 

Let  us  face  the  facts!  There  would  have  been  no  war  if  we  had 
consented  to  arbitration,  which  President  Kruger  begged  for,  but  which 
we  haughtily  refused.  There  would  have  been  no  war  if  the  govern- 
ment had  counted  the  cost.  There  would  have  been  no  war  if  the  capi- 
talists at  the  gold  fields  had  not  hoped  it  would  reduce  wages  and 
increase  dividends.  There  would  have  been  no  war  but  for  the  campaign 
of  lies  undertaken  to  make  men  mad  against  the  Boers. 

And  who  are  the  Boers?  The  Boers  are  the  Dutch  of  South  Africa, 
white  men,  and  Protestant  Christians  like  ourselves.  They  read  the 
same  Bible,  keep  the  same  Sabbath,  and  pray  to  the  same  God  as  our- 
selves. They  believe  that  they  are  fighting  for  freedom  and  fatherland, 
with  the  unanimous  support  of  Europe  except  Turkey. 


468  IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 

What  are  we  fighting  for?  We  have  been  at  war  for  three  months, 
thousands  have  been  killed  and  wounded,  but  to  this  day  neither  side 
knows  what  the  other  is  fighting  for.  Each  side  asserts  that  the  other 
is  fighting  for  something  which  the  other  denies  that  it  wants. 

Why  not  call  a  truce?  We  might  then  get  to  know  for  the  first 
time  what  is  the  real  difference  between  us.  And  when  we  had  in  black 
and  white  what  each  side  wants,  we  should  then  be  able  to  see  what 
could  be  done  to  arrange  matters.  If  we  could  not  agree  on  a  settlement, 
then  we  ought  to  refer  the  difference  to  arbitration. 

If  we  "put  it  through"  what  does  it  mean?  The  sacrifice  of  the 
lives  of  twenty  thousand  of  our  brave  sons.  The  slaughter  of  at  least 
as  many  brave  Boers.  Hard  times  for  the  poor  at  home.  Dislocation  of 
trade.  The  increase  of  taxation.  The  waste  of  one  hundred  million 
pounds  of  our  hard  earned  money.    And  in  the  end  conscription! 

Is  the  game  worth  the  candle?  If  we  wade  through  blood  to  hoist 
the  Union  Jack  at  Pretoria,  our  difficulties  will  then  only  have  begun_ 
We  shall  have  conquered  a  people  we  cannot  govern.  If  we  try  to  gov- 
ern them  against  their  will,  we  shall  have  to  keep  fifty  thousand  soldiers 
in  their  country. 

We  do  not  want  another  Ireland  in  South  Africa.  Therefore,  we 
appeal  to  you  to  stop  the  war  and  stop  it  now! 

Signed  on  behalf  of  the  "Stop-the-War  Committee." 

John  Clifford,  D.  D.,  Chairman  of  General  Committee. 
Silas  K.  Hockling,  Chairman  of  Executive. 
W.  M.  Crook,  Hon.  Secretary. 

In  the  United  States,  it  may  safely  be  said,  there  is  no 
very  strong  sympathy  which  favors  the  policy  that  led  to  the 
declaration  of  war  between  England  -and  the  Boer  Republics;  and 
yet  on  the  whole,  the  people  of  this  country  are  not  anti-English 
— they  say  nothing  in  disparagement  of  England's  principles  of 
goverment,  her  colonial  policy,  nor  of  the  liberality  manifested  in 
her  institutions.  It  is  hard,  however,  to  convince  the  American 
people  generally  that  the  war  might  not  have  been  honorably 
avoided. 

Whether  or  not  at  this  time,  March  13th,  President  Kruger, 
as  is  rumored,  is  suing  for  peace,  cannot  now  be  determined,  but  it 
is  safe  to  say  that  any  effort  on  the  part  of  the  presidents  of  these 
republics  to  secure  peace  on  any  other  terms  than  that  of  absolute 
surrender  and  annexation  will  prove  fruitless.  It  is  certain,  how- 
ever, that  there  is  a  growing  feeling  throughout  the  United  States 


THE  SOUTH  AFRICAN  WAR.  469 

that  hostilities  should  cease;  that  the  reason  for  the  war  did  not 
constitute  a  substantial  causus  belli,  and  now  that  England  has  re- 
gained in  some  measure  her  military  prestige,  she  can  afford  to 
come  to  some  sort  of  terms  not   altogether  too  humiliating  to 
the    republics.     On   the  other  hand,  an  appeal  from  Presidents 
Kruger  and  Steyn  in  the  interest  of  peace  may  be  a  witness  that 
they  wish  to  bear  to  all  the  world  that  they  would  gladly  evade  or 
escape  what  seems  to  the  rest  of  mankind  unnecessary  bloodshed. 
It  may  be,  too,  that  they  desire  to  bear  evidence  to  their  people  that 
England  not  only  now  seeks  but  has  always  sought  the  annihilation 
of  these  Dutch  republics,  and  to  convince  their  followers  that  the 
struggle  is  against  an  effort  on  the  part  of  England  to  make  the 
annihilation  of  the  Transvaal  and  the  Orange  Free  State  complete. 
If  this  diplomacy  should  arouse  a  feeling  of  desperation  in  the 
breasts  of  the  Boers,  they  will  resist  to  the  end.     They  are  now 
undoubtedly  preparing  fortifications  which  are  to  mark  the  final 
struggles  in  this  war.     If  the  defense  is  planned  with  that  skill 
and  strategy  which  critics  of  military  science  believe  will  be  planned 
by  the  Boers,  the  struggle  is  by  no  means  over,  the  end  is  not  in 
sight,  and  bloodshed  and  human  suffering  will  pervail  in  the  last 

degree. 

It  may  be  remarked  that  Russia  is  at  present  undoubtedly 
taking  advantage  of  England's  engagements  elsewhere.     She  is 
pressing  her  policy  on  the  Persians  who  have  recently  accepted  a 
loan  from  Russia.     Russia  is  rapidly  increasing  an  anti-English 
sentiment  in  Persia.     It  may  be,  too,  that  wth  a  view  of  devour- 
ing Afghanistan  that  the  rulers  of  that  country  will  first  be  made 
mad.     Whatever  may  be  the  present  strength  of  Russia  and  her 
ability  to  cope  with  Great  Britain,  it  is  certain  that  in  view  of  the 
Russian  policy,  at  present  all  conditions  are  in  favor  of  Russia. 
How  England  is  to  cope  with  Russia's  aggressive  policy,  is  a  mat- 
ter of  the  most  unsatisfactory  speculation  from  an  English  point 
of  view.     From  the  war  in  South  Africa,  from  the  difficulties  and 
intrigues  of  Central  and  Eastern  Asia,  it  can  be  easily  seen  how  the 
most  obscure  nation  and  even  tribe  of  people  may  become  an  apple 
of  discord  among  the  great  European  powers.    The  words  of  the 
Peace  Conference  have  scarcely  lost  their  ring,  and  in  the  midst 
of  their  dying  echoes  are  seen  the  most  gigantic  preparations  for 


470  -  IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 

war  that  have  been  carried  on  within  a  quarter  of  a  century.  The 
war  in  South  Africa  is  also  teaching  us  the  dangers  of  military  in- 
toxication. Military  heroes  of  the  world  today  overshadow  the 
civilian  from  every  point  of  view.  One  is  naturally  led  to  ask, 
what  the  end  of  it  will  be.  Is  it  possible  for  such  military  prepa- 
rations to  go  on  year  after  year  under  the  fever  of  excited  national 
prejudices,  without  leading  to  dire  national  calamities.  When  the 
struggle  now  going  on  shall  be  over,  the  problems  of  peace  will  be 
further  from  solution  than  ever. 


GIVE  YOURSELF. 


"What  can  we  do  for  you?"  asked  the  church  visitors  of  the 
poor  old  soul  whom  they  found  on  the  pallet  of  straw  in  the  attic. 
They  thought  she  would  say  "bread,"  "fuel,"  "covering,"  for  she 
lacked  all  of  these.  "What  do  you  want?"  "People,"  she  said; 
"send  some  one  to  talk  to  me.     I  am  lonely." 

It  is  kind  treatment  that  the  weary  world  most  needs.  To 
Artabazus,  a  courtier,  Cyrus  gave  a  cup  of  gold,  but  to  Chrysanthus, 
his  favorite,  he  gave  only  a  kiss.  Whereupon  the  courtier  said, 
"Sire,  the  cup  you  gave  me  was  not  so  good  gold  as  the  kiss  you 
gave  Chrysanthus." 

Many  a  heart  will  still  be  hungry,  vacant,  famished  and  ach- 
ing after  receiving  magnificent  presents,  because  the  giver  is  not 
in  his  gift.  Only  the  heart  can  feed  the  heart.  Many  a  noble 
heart  has  starved  'mid  plenty  because  its  famished  affections  were 
not  fed. 

You  cannot  send  the  best  of  yourself  in  a  ton  of  coal,  a  book, 
a  doll  or  a  check.  "It  will  not  go  without  you.  You  must  go 
with  it.     Give  yourself;  this  is  what  your  friend  wants. — Success. 


EDITOR'S  TABLE. 


MISSION  WORK. 


That  the  work  of  God  is  growing  in  the  world  is  strongly- 
attested  by  the  reports  for  the  year  1899,  printed  in  the  organs  of 
the  Church  published  in  the  various  mission  fields  of  the  earth. 

It  appears  from  the  Millennial  Star  that  in  Great  Britain 
and  on  the  continent  there  were  five  hundred  and  eighty  mission- 
aries laboring  in  the  field,  including  eleven  ladies,  and  that  the 
result  of  their  labors  in  baptisms  was  as  follows:  in  Britain,  416; 
in  Scandinavia,  433;  in  Germany,  168;  in  Switzerland,  118;  and 
in  the  Netherlands,  278;  making  a  total  of  baptisms  of  1413,  or  a 
trifle  over  an  average  of  two  and  one-half  baptisms  for  each 
missionary  in  the  field.  There  is  a  total  membership  in  Europe, 
including  children  under  eight  years  of  age,  of  13,858. 

From  the  Southern  Star,  the  report  for  1899  shows  that  there 
were  four  hundred  and  ninety-three  missionaries  in  the  Southern 
States,  with  a  total  membership  including  children,  of  10,251. 
There  were  1298  baptisms,  resulting  as  near  as  need  be  in  the 
same  average  to  each  elder  as  in  Europe;  namely,  a  little  over  two 
and  one-half  baptisms  to  each. 

The  reports  from  other  missions  in  the  United  States  and  in 
the  islands  of  the  sea,  are  not  at  hand,  so  that  the  effect  of  the 
labors  of  that  other  number  of  perhaps  seven-hundred  missionaries 
abroad  in  these  fields  in  1899,  can  not  be  definitely  stated,  but 
can  only  be  surmised  from  the  figures  quoted.  However,  it  will 
not  be  far  wrong  to  say  that  at  least  four  thousand  new  converts 
are  added  yearly  to  the  Church  by  its  missionaries  outside  of  the 


472  IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 

organized  stakes  of  Zion.  The  ratio  between  the  number  of 
elders  engaged  and  the  increased  membership  varies  in  quite 
large  proportions  in  various  conferences;  in  some  sections  of  the 
European  Mission,  it  ranges  from  one-half  to  nine  per  missionary. 
But  baptisms  do  not  indicate  all  the  success  of  the  work. 
The  silent  labors  of  the  elders  find  expression  in  many  other  ways 
than  in  baptisms.  The  good  which  they  teach  is  far-reaching, 
and  appears  in  places  and  at  times  often  where  and  when  least 
expected.  As  an  example  of  what  "Mormon"  doctrine  has  done 
in  the  world,  aside  from  its  immediate  effect  for  blessing  on  those 
who  have  joined  the  Church,  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  article, 
"Silent  Forces,"  by  Elder  Henry  W.  Naisbitt,  in  this  number  of  the 
Era.  But  apart  from  the  good  example  set  by  the  Saints  in 
temporal  affairs  and  as  a  religious  community,  good  ensues  daily 
to  those  who  are  actively  engaged  in  the  missionary  work. 
Their  sacrifices  in  the  outlay  of  means,  in  giving  up  positions,  in 
absence  from  loved  ones,  in  business  enterprises  suspended  or  set 
aside,  all  tend  to  make  them  stronger  and  better,  and  to  love  the 
cause  with  more  enduring  love.  And  this  activity  and  sacrifice 
does  not  fall  alone  upon  the  elders  abroad:  it  is  borne  as  a  duty, 
and  understood  as  a  grave  responsibility,  by  wives,  parents  and 
children,  and  society  as  a  whole,  at  home.  So  that  all  are 
blessed  and  benefitted  in  proportion  to  the  sacrifice  made;  and 
thus  advantages  accrue  on  every  hand  from  this  wonderful  mis- 
sionary work  of  the  Latter-day  Saints — a  work  that  stands  alone 
and  distinct  in  all  the  world,  just  as  the  divinely  revealed  doctrines 
of  the  Church  stand  apart  as  the  only  true  light  and  way  of  salva- 
tion to  the  nations. 


DEATH  OF  CHIEF  WASHAKIE. 


The  old  Indian  Chief  Washakie  is  dead.  He  passed  away  to 
the  happy  hunting  grounds  on  Tuesday,  February  20,  1900.  He 
died  in  his  tepee  on  the  Shoshone  reservation,  near  Lander,  Wyo- 


EDITOR'S  TABLE.  473 

ming,  at  the  good  old  age  of  eighty-six  years,  after  being  the 
ruler  of  his  people  for  over  fifty  years.  He  was  the  peace-chief 
of  the  red  men,  and  his  death  recalls  many  incidents  in  the  history 
of  northern  Utah  and  the  country  surrounding.  He  was  a  vigor- 
ous and  war-like  prince  among  the  Indians  in  the  days  of  the  buf- 
falo when  the  smoke  of  the  wigwam  curled  upward  from  beside 
the  willow  copse  in  every  valley.  He  grew  to  manhood  before  the 
westward  press  of  civilization  threw  the  early  stragglers  of  the 
white  race  into  the  devious  paths  of  his  hunting  grounds,  and  he 
lived  to  see  the  whole  wild  country  west  of  the  Mississippi  pass 
from  the  native  American  to  the  aggressive  white  race  from  the 
mysterious  East. 

He  early  saw  the  futility  of  trying  to  stem  the  tide  of  coloniza- 
tion, and  was  instrumental,  on  the  contrary,  in  subduing  the  war 
spirit  in  unfriendly  tribes  and  in  the  young  warriors  of  his  own 
following.     He  became  the  firm  friend  of  the  whites,  and  rendered 
them  valuable  aid  when  their  border  settlements  were  threatened 
by  hostile   bands.     In  the  early  50's,  President  Brigham   Young 
sent  missionaries  to  Washakie  to  make  peace  with  him  and  his 
tribe,  for  it  was  the  policy  of  the  Big  Captain  of  the  "Mormons"  to 
be-  friendly  with  the  red  man,  to  feed  instead  of  fight  hira.     The 
Indian  chief  became  a  warm  friend  of  Brigham  Young  and  the 
"Mormons,"  and  did  all  he'could  to  keep  his  young  warriors  in  sub- 
mission and  prevent  them  from  shedding  human  blood.     In  this 
way,  much  evil  and  destruction  were  prevented. 

Washakie  and  his  large  band  of  followers  were  regular  visit- 
ors in  the  valleys  of  the  north,  prior  to  1868.  President  Francis 
A.  Hammond  of  San  Juan  Stake,  a  friend  and  great  admirer  of  the 
old  chief,  has  given  the  Era  the  following  description  of  him,  and 
an  account  of  such  a  visit  to  Huntsville,  in  Ogden  Valley,  in  the 
early  part  of  September,  1866: 

With  a  large  number  of  his  tribe,  eight  under-chiefs  or  councillors, 
and  a  small  host  of  squaws  and  papooses,  he  called  on  us.  They  were  all 
well  dressed  in  tidy  buckskin  clothing,  and  were  as  fine  a  looking  set  of 
wild  people  as  I  have  ever  seen  west  of  the  Missouri  river.  We  enter- 
tained them  with  the  best  we  had-beef,  flour  and  vegetables  P^^ed  up  m 
heaps  on  the  public  square.  In  turn,  the  kind-hearted  chief  with  hj 
warriors  and   braves,  entertained  us  with  a  sham  battle  between  his 


474  IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 

tribe,  the  Shoshones,  and  the  Sioux.  This  was  performed  in  the  real  style 
of  Indian  warfare.  With  the  horrid  Indian  whoop  that  fairly  made  the 
blood  curdle  in  the  veins  of  us  pale  faces,  they  advanced  with  break-neck 
speed,  delivered  their  shots  or  arrows,  then  would  suddenly  wheel  round 
and  ride  away  with  their  bodies  low  down  on  the  sides  of  their  ponies 
to  shield  themselves  from  the  shots  of  their  enemy.  They  also  illus- 
trated their  method  of  scalping.  They  slid  from  their  ponies,  severed 
an  imaginary  scalp,  and  were  again  astride  of  the  animals  as  quick  as 
thought. 

Washakie  was  the  finest  looking  Indian  I  ever  saw,  graceful  and 
dignified,  with  a  mild  and  kindly  look  beaming  from  his  large,  black  eyes 
set  well  and  wide  apart  in  a  broad,  high  forehead;  his  copper-colored 
countenance  seemed  full  of  benevolence,  his  form,  commanding.  He  was 
six  feet  tall,  well-built,  with  small  hands  and  feet;  a  large  well-formed 
nose.  He  was  a  great  friend  of  the  Prophet  Brigham,  and  after  he 
became  acquainted  with  the  teachings  of  President  Young  and  the  "Mor- 
mons," he  lived  at  peace  with  all  Indian  tribes.  Brother  George  Hill, 
Indian  missionary,  visited  his  tribe,  and  succeeded  in  baptizing  a  number 
of  them,  but  Washakie  himself  was  never  baptized  by  an  elder  of  the 
Church.  He  believed  in  our  people,  and  was  their  life-long  friend,  and 
I  think  his  desire  was  to  live  in  their  midst,  and  he  would  have  done  so 
had  not  sectarian  influence  with  the  government  severed  him  and  his 
people  from  the  "Mormons,"  and  caused  them  to  be  corralled  on  a  reser- 
vation. 

In  1868,  Washakie,  in  company  with  the  head  chiefs  of  the 
Bannocks,  met  General  Sherman  and  others  at  Fort  Bridger,  and 
negotiated  the  famous  treaty  that  gave  the  Wind  River  Reserva- 
tion to  the  tribe.  It  is  related  that  after  the  Sioux  campaign,  Gen- 
eral Grant,  who  was  a  great  admirer  of  the  Shoshone  chief,  made 
him  a  present  of  a  costly  saddle  and  bridle.  Washakie  received 
the  gift  in  silence,  and  when  asked  by  the  interpreter  why  he  did 
not  thank  General  Grant,  the  chief  replied:  "Do  a  favor  to  a 
Frenchman,  he  feels  it  in  his  head,  and  his  tongue  speaks:  show  a 
kindness  to  an  Indian,  and  he  feels  it  in  his  heart.  The  heart  has 
no  tongue." 

The  body  of  the  old  chief  was  laid  to  rest  in  the  military  ceme- 
tary  at  Fort  Washakie,  on  February  23.  In  the  funeral  procession 
there  were  over  two  thousand  people.  He  was  given  a  burial  such 
as  captains  holding  commissions  in  the  army  are  granted,  and  the 
Episcopal  service  was  read  at  the  grave  by  Reverend  John  Roberts, 


EDITOR'S  TABLE.  475 

who,  it  is  reported,  had  baptized  the  chief.  The  soldiers  fired 
three  volleys  as  a  salute,  and  as  the  mournful  notes  of  taps  rang 
out  on  the  clear  air,  the  body  of  the  peaceful  ruler,  the  noble 
brave,  the  white  man's  friend,  was  lowered  into  the  grave. 

And  so  passed  a  wonderful  personality  from  the  midst  of  a 
dwindling  race,  once  the  monarchs  of  the  West,  now  the  simple, 
soldier-guarded  reservation  wards  of  a  mighty  nation  of  con- 
querors. 


NOTES. 


Aim  high  and  don't  forget  at  what  you  are  aiming. 

Be  sure  that  every  one  of  you  has  his  place  and  vocation  on  this 
earth,  and  that  it  rests  with  himself  to  find  it.  Do  not  believe  those 
who  too  lightly  say,  "Nothing  succeeds  like  success."  Effort — honest, 
manful,  humble  effort— succeeds  by  its  reflected  action,  especially  in 
youth,  better  than  success,  which,  indeed,  too  easily  and  too  early  gained 
not  seldom  serves,  like  winning  the  throw  of  the  dice,  to  blind  and  stu- 
pefy.— Gladstone. 

Prof.  Schurman,  of  Cornell  University,  a  leading  thinker  and  edu- 
cator of  the  United  States,  and  late  of  the  Philippine  commission,  has 
startled  the  religious  world  by  announcing  that  the  government  should 
formulate  a  religion  fitted  for  the  wants  of  the  Filipinos.     He  fears  evil 
will  follow  the  present  Catholic  influence,  and  perceives  the  still  worse 
trouble  of  permitting  the  hundreds  of  contending  sects  with  their  con- 
tradictory doctrines  to  invade  the  islands.    Such  a  medley  of  religions 
would  distract  the  natives,  and  lead  them  to  distrust  more  than  ever, 
everything  that  comes  from  America.    The  scheme  does  more  credit  to 
the  Professor's  kindness  of  heart  than  to  his  ability  to  devise  the  practi- 
cal     Then  again,  the  Professor  seems  to  ignore  the  idea  of  the  divine 
origin  of  religion.    According  to  his  philoso].hy,  religion  is  only  a  man- 
made  affair  after  all,  which  could  be  more  readily  evolved  by  a  conglom- 
erate convention  of  sectarian  dignitaries  than  by  quietly  waiting  on  the 
revelations  of  God.    But  if  a  religion  based  on  eternal  truth,  and  coin- 
ciding with  the  word  of  God  in  the  Bible,  could  be  evolved,  it  would 
without  doubt  so  resemble  "Mormonism,"  divinely  revealed,  that  a  cry 
would  be  raised  against  it  on  every  side.— J.  E.  Ward. 


OUR  WORK. 


TITLE  OF  OFFICERS. 


The  question  having  arisen  as  to  the  title  of  the  general  officers  of 
the  Young  Men's  Mutual  Improvement  Associations,  also  the  stake  and 
ward  officers,  the  matter  was  discussed  at  a  meeting  of  the  General 
Board  recently,  when  it  was  decided  that  the  general  officers  shall  be 
entitled  general  superintendent  and  assistants;  that  the  stake  officers 
shall  be  entitled  stake  superintendents  and  assistants;  and  that  the  ward 
officers  shall  be  entitled  presidents  and  counselors. 

These  titles  should  be  applied  in  all  cases  where  the  officers  mentioned 
are  referred  to,  so  as  to  avoid  confusion  and  promote  order. 


GENERAL  CONFERENCE  Y.  M.  M.  I.  A. 


At  a  recent  meeting  of  the  General  Board,  it  was  decided  that  the 
annual  conference  of  the  Mutual  Improvement  Associations  would  be  held 
on  the  10th,  11th  and  12th  of  June,  1900.  These  conferences  are  pro- 
ductive of  much  good,  and  essential  to  instil  life  into  the  associations  in 
the  organized  stakes  of  Zion;  and  it  is  desired  that  all  the  superintend- 
ents as  well  as  the  presidents  of  these  associations  shall  attend  the  meet- 
ings where  they  may  be  instructed  concerning  that  which  pertains  to 
their  calling,  and  keep  well  to  the  front  in  Mutual  Improvement  work. 
Some  very  important  matters  will  be  presented  for  consideration,  and  no 


OUR   WORK.  All 

officer  can  afford  to  miss  the  instructions  that  will  be  given  on  this 
occasion.  In  passing,  it  should  be  remembered  that  on  the  first  date 
mentioned,  twenty-five  years  ago,  the  first  improvement  association,  as 
such,  was  organized,  and  the  general  movement  of  the  Y.  M.  M.  I.  A. 
received  its  beginning  in  the  Thirteenth  Ward,  Salt  Lake  City.  Doubt- 
less some  special  exercise  at  the  coming  conference  will  be  presented 
to  fitly  commemorate  the  event. 


MANUAL    1900-1901. 


A  committee  has  already  been  selected  to  compile  and  edit  the  man- 
ual for  the  next  season,  which  will  be  a  continuation  of  the  Dispensation 
of  the  Fullness  of  Times,  from  the  Missouri  exodus  to  and  including  the 
exodus  from  Nauvoo,  and  the  settlement  of  Utah.     This  will  be  the  sec- 
ond manual  in  the  historical  series,  and  the  fourth  manual  in  the  series 
which  have  been  recently  issued  for  the  associations.     The  manual  to 
follow  will  undoubtedly  comprise  a  discussion  of  the  principles  of  t  e 
Gospel  as  believed  in  by  the  Latter-day  Saints.     P^^^''^^"*^^"^  ,7"'?" 
of  the  associations  should  early  begin  the  necessary  arrangements    od.s 
tribute  the  manuals  so  that  at  the  beginning  of  the  season,  next  fall, 
everything  may  be  in  shape  to  begin  work  immediately. 


BOOK  MENTION. 


Mormons  and  Mormonism  is  the  title  of  a  twenty-four  page  pam- 
T^hlet  by  Charles  Ellis,  a  non-"Mormon,"  and  the  author  of  several  writ- 
ings on  Utah  and  her  people.  It  is  a  readable  exposition  of  the  industry, 
Education  religion  and  morals  of  the  Latter-day  Samts,  and  gives  a 
chapter  o;«^^^^^^^^^  and  the  New  Crusade"  which  is  very  timely 

under  present  conditions.    The  pamphlet  is  valuable  not  only  as  home 


478  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 

reading,  but  as  good  information  for  investigators  into  conditions  in 
Utah. 


Life  op  David  W.  Patten,  the  First  Apostolic  Martyr,  is  the 
title  of  a  booklet  of  seventy-seven  pages  by  Lycurgus  A.  Wilson,  printed 
and  for  sale  by  the  Deseret  News.  In  a  familiar  style,  the  life  story  of 
Apostle  Patten  is  told  with  a  view  to  interest  the  present  generation  in 
his  devoted  labors  in  the  cause  of  God.  President  Lorenzo  Snow,  who 
owes  his  conversion  to  the  Gospel  to  the  testimony  of  Apostle  Patten, 
furnishes  an  introduction  to  the  "Life,"  in  the  course  of  which  he  says  of 
the  martyred  apostle: 

"Almost  the  last  thing  he  said  to  me,  after  bearing  his  testimony,was 
that  I  should  go  to  the  Lord  before  retiring  at  night  and  ask  him  for 
myself.  This  I  did  with  the  result  that  from  the  day  I  met  this  great 
apostle,  all  my  aspirations  have  been  enlarged  and  heightened  immeasur- 
ably. This  was  the  turning  point  in  my  life.  What  impressed  me  most 
was  his  absolute  sincerity,  his  earnestness  and  his  spiritual  power;  and 
I  believe  I  cannot  do  better  *  *  *  than  to  commend  a  careful  study 
of  his  life  to  the  honest  in  heart  everywhere." 

The  book  is  full  of  testimony  concerning  healing,  revelation  and 
spiritual  manifestations,  as  interwoven  in  the  short  but  devoted  life  of 
the  martyred  apostle.  It  is  dedicated  to  the  missionaries  of  the  Church, 
and  will  be  found  of  value  as  a  promoter  of  faith  among  the  people. 


The  Topical  Bible,  by  Orville  J.  Nave,  LL.  D.,  is  a  new  arrange- 
ment of  all  the  subjects  and  matter  in  the  Bible  in  alphabetic  order.  It 
is  valuable  because  all  references  to  any  given  subject  in  the  Bible  may 
be  found  under  the  given  heading.  It  contains  nothing  but  the  classified 
words  of  the  Holy  Bible,  It  is,  besides  being  a  concordance  of  topics,  a 
cyclopaedia  of  Biblical  religion,  history,  biography,  legal  lore,  illustrations, 
geography,  arts,  sciences,  philosophy,  manners  and  customs:  in  fact,  it 
is  a  thorough,  exhaustive  and  searching  analysis  of  the  Bible,  arranged 
to  save  time  in  the  study  of  the  word  of  God.  Dr.  Nave,  chaplain  in  the 
United  States  army,  spent  fourteen  years  arranging  his  materials,  and 
has  succeeded  in  his  work  so  admirably  that  no  person  will  wish  to  be 
without  it.  The  book  is  for  sale  in  Utah  by  Thomas  Hull  and  Nephi  L. 
Morris,  Salt  Lake  City,  who  will  mail  it  to  any  address  on  receipt  of 
price  which  will  be  furnished  on  application. 


EVENTS  OF  THE  MONTR 

BY  THOMAS  HULL,  SECRETARY  OF  THE  GENERAL  BOARD  OP  Y.  M.  M.  L  A. 


February  21st:  Governor  H.  M.  Wells  arrived  in  Washington  to  be 
present  at  the  meeting  of  Governors  to  arrange  for  the  centennial  cele- 
bration of  the  removal  of  the  seat  of  Government  from  Philadelphia  to 
Washington  *  *  *  Leslie  E.  Keeley,  the  inventor  of  the  Keeley  cure 
for  the  liquor  habit  died  at  his  home  in  Los  Angeles,  California. 

22nd:  The  governors  of  the  arid  land  states  ask  Congress  to 
delay  action  regarding  arid  lands  for  the  present.  *  *  *  The  secre- 
tary of  the  Interior  recommends  that  no  action  be  taken  at  present 
looking  to  the  segregation  of  any  portion  of  the  Uintah  Reservation 
for  the  purpose  of  restoring  it  to  the  public  domain.  *  *  *  Presi- 
dent Lorenzo  Snow  received  notice  of  the  death  in  Norway  of  Elder 
Henry  Ward  Berg,  son  of  0.  H.  and  Annie  Nelson  Berg,  Provo. 

23rd:  The  total  casualty  list  in  the  Philippines  for  eighteen  months 
is  3491.  *  *  *  J.  A.  McAllister  of  Logan  was  appointed  to  succeed 
M.  W.  Merrill  as  trustee  of  the  Agricultural  College. 

25th:  Mexicans  and  Yaquis  engage  in  a  battle  near  Guaymas,  in 
which  the  former  lose  227  men.  *  *  *  The  ore  and  bullion  ship- 
ments from  Utah  for  the  week  ending  24th  inst.  weighed  4,592,638  pounds. 

26th:  A  letter  from  Major  R.  W.  Young  to  Governor  Wells  was 
received  announcing: 

"I  have  purchased  a  large  bronze  cannon  weighing  about  800  pounds 
from  the  Spaniards,  with  the  carriage  for  mounting  the  same,  and  will 
ship  the  same  at  once  to  you,  as  a  gift  from  me  to  the  State  of  Utah. 
The  gun  was  manufactured  in  1776,  our  historic  year.  It  bears  the 
name  Ganan,  which  might  be  translated  'they  conquer.' " 

27th:  General  Cronje  and  four  thousand  soldiers  surrendered  to 
Lord  Roberts  at  Paardeberg  at  7:45  a.m.,  the  anniversary  of  Majuba. 
*  *  *  The  G.  A.  R.  Department  of  Utah  elected  Major  M.  A.  Breeden, 
Department  Commander,  at  their  session  in  Ogden. 

March  1st:     General  Buller   announces   the   relief   of  Ladysmith 
after  a  siege  lasting  nearly  four  months,  and  there  is  great  rejoicing  in 
England.     It  is  announced  that  the  British  casualty  list  in  the  Trans- 
vaal totals  12,834  to  date.     *     *     *    The  amended  Porto  Rican  tariff 
bill  has  passed  the  House  by  a  vote  of  172  yeas  to  161  nays.    *    *    * 


480  IMPROVEMENT  ERA. 

The  Democratic  State  Convention  nominated  Hon.  W.  H.  King  for  Con- 
gress by  a  vote  of  338J  to  175J  for  David  C.  Dunbar. 

2nd:  Hon.  James  T.  Hammond  is  nominated  for  Congress  by  the 
Republican  State  Convention  by  a  vote  of  301  to  91  for  William  Glas- 
man.  *  *  *  The  Boers  6000  strong  have  re-formed  at  Osfontein  and 
are  said  to  be  facing  the  army  of  Lord  Roberts. 

6th:  Winston  Churchill  announces  that  the  relief  of  Ladysmith  has 
been  effected  at  a  cost  of  upward  of  5000  officers  and  men,  in  an 
army  only  25,000  strong.  *  *  *  The  Salt  Lake  City  Council  granted 
a  franchise  to  the  Oregon  Short  Line,  and  Rio  Grande  Western  railways 
for  the  erection  of  a  union  station  in  Salt  Lake  to  cost  not  less  than 
$200,000.  *  *  *  The  initial  meeting  of  the  Democratic  campaign  was 
held  at  Mendon,  Cache  Co.,  Judge  King  and  Hon.  D.  C.  Dunbar,  speakers. 

8th:  Governor  Wells  returned  from  the  East.  *  *  *  Queen 
Victoria  was  hailed  with  demonstrations  which  outdid  the  Diamond 
Jubilee,  on  the  occasion  of  the  celebration  of  the  victories  which  have 
transformed  the  South  African  campaign  from  reverse  to  success. 

10th:  Mayor  Thompson  of  Salt  Lake  City  signs  the  Union  Depot 
Ordinance  *  *  *  John  H.  Benbroke  on  trial  for  the  murder  of 
Burton  C.  Morris,  last  July,  was  acquitted  by  the  jury.  *  *  *  Presi- 
dents Kruger  and  Steyn  ask  for  cessation  of  hostilities,  and  England 
looks  for  an  early  peace. 

11th:     In  a  battle  with  the  Mexicans  200  Yaqui  Indians  are  killed. 

12th:  The  Federal  Court  rendered  a  decision  in  the  case  of  the 
Ogden  Water  Co.  vs  Ogden  City,  giving  plaintiff  judgment  for 
$11,183.32.    *    *    *    Lord  Roberts'  army  reaches  Bloemfontein. 

13:  The  Utah  Society  of  the  Army  of  the  Philippines  was  organized 
in  Salt  Lake  City,  Major  F.  A,  Grant,  president;  H.  Klenke,  correspond- 
ing and  Wm.  E.  Kneass,  recording  secretary;   Nels  Margetts,  treasurer. 

14th:  The  new  monetary  act,  designed  to  increase  the  National 
bank  circulation  was  signed  and  went  into  effect.  *  *  *  President 
Steyn  has  fled  from  Bloemfontein  which  was  entered  by  Lord  Roberts  on 
the  13th  and  is  now  occupied  by  the  British. 

15th:  In  reply  to  a  question  concerning  the  offer  of  the  United 
States  to  use  its  good  offices  for  peace  in  Africa,  England  declares  that 
no  interference  in  the  Transvaal  war  is  desired. 

16th:  General  Wheeler  tells  the  War  Department  that  the  war  in 
the  Philippines  is  practically  over.  *  *  *  The  Senate  passed  the 
two  million  dollar  Porto  Rican  relief  bill.  *  *  *  As  a  result  cf  the 
new  financial  act,  over  two  hundred  new  national  banks  have  applied  to 
begin  business. 


Swiffs 


Silver  Leaf 
Lard. 

WiRcriester  Hams. 

WiRChGSter  Breakfast 

Bacon. 

riNCST  QUALITY. 
niLDCST  CURE. 

IKSISr  ON  ABOVE  BRANDS  BEING  TURNISHCD 
ON  YOUR  ORDERS. 

THKC  NO  INfCRIOR  SUDSTITUTt 


i  i \l\i  i 


HTPA-N-S  TABUIES 


A  Good 
Prescription 


Ibr  ma 


Ten  for  five  cents,  at  Druggists,  Grocers,  Restaurants, 
Saloons,  News-Stands,  General  Stores  and  Barbers 
Shops.  They  banish  pain,  induce  sleep,  and  prolong  life. 
One  gives  relief!  No  matter  what's  the  matter,  one  will 
do  you  good.  Ten  samples  and  one  thousand  testi- 
monials sent  by  mail  to  any  address  on  receipt  of  price, 
by  the  Ripans  Chemical  Co.,  lo  Spruce  St.,  New  York  City. 


J 


(WBUN  Wai'IlNG  TO   A-DV^RTISEKS   MKNTION  I'HB  BRA.) 


Scenic  liNE-™^Wof^LD 


ir:fDmVERAND 

■:RIOGRANDt 

RAILROAD. 


THE  POPULAR  THROUGH 
CAR  LINE  FROM  THE  «#♦ 


NORTHWEST 


-.TO  ALL  POINTS 


EAST 


a  f.  NEVINS,  GentriJ  Agent  S.  K.  HOOPER,  G.  P.  &  T.  A 

SALT  LAKE  QTY,  UTAH,  DENVER.  COlOi 


Oregon  Short  Line  Railroad 

Operating  1421  Miles  of  Railroad  through 
the  Thriving  States  of 

UTAH,  IDAHO,  WYOMING,  OREGON  and  MONTANA. 


THE  ONLY  ROAD 


To  BUTTE,  HELENA,  PORTLAND,  and  the  NORTH  PACIFIC  COAST. 


Four  Daily  Trains  between  SALT  LAKE  CITY  and  OGDEN.    The  POPULAR 
LINE  to  all  Utah  Mining  Districts.    The  Only  Road  to  MERCUR. 


The  Fastest  Service  to  All  Points  East. 


BUY  YOUR  TICKETS  VIA  THE  "SHORT  LINE,"  UTAH'S 
FAVORITE  RAILROAD. 

City  Ticket  Office,  No.  WO  West  Second  Sout/i  St.,  Sa/t  Lake  City. 


S.  W.  ECCLES,  Genera/  Traflfc  Manager.  0.  E.  BURLEY,  Gen.  Pass,  and  Ticket  Agt 

*  W.  H.  BANCROFT,  Vice-Prest.  and  General  Manager. 

(WHKN  WRITING  TO  ADVERTISERS  MBNTIOH  THE  BRA.) 


WEBEH  WflGOjiS 


+     KND     ♦ 

OB    SLEDS 

KING    OP    Alili. 


STODDilHt)  IWpG.  GO 


TigeF  and  Gfangcp  Hakes 

The  old  reliable.  More  in  use 
than  total  of  other  kinds. 

Havana  Press  Drills 

Insure  even  growth,  and  use  one 
third  less  seed  and  raise  one  third 
larger  crops. 

Beck  Hav  Loaders 

Save  time  and  hay.  Strongest 
made.  Will  elevate  from  swath, 
wind  row,  or  cocks. 


Go-operatlve  Wagon  &  Mactiine  Go., 

EXCLUSIVE  AGENTS   IN    UTAH  AND    IDAHO    FOR  ABOVE  LINES. 

GEO.  T.  ODELL,  General  Hanager. 


We  fLom  |VIake  VOU 
CUholesale  Prices 


On  anything  you  want  in  the  line  of  Guns,  Ammunition,  Fishing 
Tackle,  Pistols,  Baseball  Goods,  Boxing  Gloves,  Athletic 
Goods,  Tents,  in  fact  all  kinds  of  Shooting,  Fishing,  Camping 
and  Sporting  Goods. 

Our  new  catalogue  is  out  and  it  contains  the  most  complete  line  at  prices 
that  will  astonish  you— WHOLESALE  PRICES.  It  is  Free  to  all.  We  also 
have  the  agency  for  six  different  makes  Bicycles  (about  eighty  different  kinds)  and 
will  be  pleased  to  send  catalogue  of  any  of  them  and  make'prices. 


BROSfliNING 

155  Main  St., 

Salt  Lake  City. 


BROTHERS      CO.. 

2461  Washington  Ave.j 


Ogflen,  Utah. 


(WHKN  WRITING  TO  ADVERTISERS  MENTION  THE  ERA.) 


^^^^S*=:^^^^^g^J»^^^t^^=,e5^^Z;^^==^(J^^;;fi^^5<^gP^ 


Please 
Remember 


When  you  come  to  Conference 


THAT  OUR   ESTABLISHMENT  IS 


s 


M,  I.  A,  SUPPLIES, 

SUNDAY  SCHOOL  PUBLICATIONS, 

BOOKS  FOR  PRIMARY  ASS'NS,  ETC, 

WHOLESALE  AND  RETAIL. 


^  For  Everything  in  the  Book:  and  Sta-    ^ 

tion.ery  Lin.e,  send  to  or  call  on 

Geo.  Q.  Cannon 
&  Sons  Co., 

SALT  LAKE  CITY,  UTAH.  ^ 

WRITE   FOR    NEW  CATALOGUE  AND  PRICE-LIST. 


(when  writing  to  advertisers   MENl  ION  THE  ERA.) 


f  11  IME 


FARM  AND  FREIGHT 


WAGONS 


-j*-^ 


Sold  exclusively  by  the 
Co-operative  AVagon  & 
Machine  Co.,  in  Utah 
and  Idaho. 


GflflMPION 


Six -Roller  Harvesters 
and  Binders. 

Light  Folding  Reapers, 

Combined  Reapers  and 
Mowers,  and 

Draw  Cut  Mowers, 


CONSTITUTES  THE 


JWost   Complete    Iiine    of    ]VIaehinet<y 
Capped  in  the  State. 


^(9^  The  Success  we  have  experienced 
in  the  Sa/e  of  These  Machines  has  been 
Phenomenal. 


A  Celebrated  Case. 


M^ 


There  is  only  one  Threshing 
outfit  made  that  gives  Entire 
Satisfaction. 


During  1897  and  1898  there 
were  sold  in  Utah  and  Idaho 
more  Case  outfits  than  all 
others  combined. 


J.  I.  CASE  T.  M.  CO., 

^^'Racine,  Wis. 


The   Best  bine 


-— 0£- 


STEEL  PLOWS 


HARROWS 

.  .  Is_Made  by  .  . 

JOHN    DEERE    &  CO., 

MOLINE,   ILL. 


GO"OPEHflTIVE  OlftGOIi  &  WM^  CO.. 

OA   EXCLUSIVE  AGENTS  IN  UTAH  AND  IDAHO  FOR  ALL  ABOVE  LINES,   ^^ 
HEBER  J.  GRANT,  President.  JOSEPH  F.  SHITH,  Vice-Prest. 

GEO.  T.  ODELL,  Meivin  d.  wells. 

General  Manager.  Secretary  and  Treasurer. 

(WHEN  WRITING  TO  ADVERTISERS  MENTION  THE  ERA.) 


HEBER  J.  GRANT  &  CO.,  Agts. 


The   Hartford 
Fire  Insurance 

COMPANY, 

IMa-rtfoi-dj   Conn. 


Assets,  Jan.  i, 

1898, 

- 

$10,898,629 

Net    Surplus, 

over 

all 

liabilities 

- 

- 

4.249.725 

North  British 
and  Mercantile 

INSVJRT^NOB     00. 

(United  States  Branch.) 


Assets,  Jan.  I,  1898,       -    $4,280,505 
Net    Surplus,    over    all 

liabilities,  -         -       2,103,877 

The  combined  fire  and  life  assets 
of  the  North  British  and  Mercantile 
are  over  $65,000,000. 


German 

American 

INSWRKNOE     CO. 
NEW    YORK. 


Assets,  Jan.  I,  1898,      -      $7.834'699 
Net    Surplus,   over  all 

liabilities,        -        -        3.678,999 


Pennsylvania 
Fire  Insurance 

COATPKNY, 
Flnila.d.e:lptiia.. 


Assets,  Jan.  I,  1898,      -      $5,100,286 
Net    Surplus,    over    all 

liabilities  -        -       2,197,726 


HEBER  J.  GRANT  &  CO.,  Agts. 

WHSN  WRITING  TO   A.DVX11TISXKS   UXHTION  THS  RRA.) 


§tud6Dak6r  -^ 

FARM  WnOON 


Conceeded  by  all  Farmers  and  Teamsters  to  be  the  Best  and 
Lightest  Running  Wagon  on  the  Market. 


The  Celebrated  Siudebaker  Four  Spring  Mountain 
Wagon,  with  "A"  Grade  Wheels,  complete  with 
White  Duck  Express  Top,  and  the  Finest  Hand 
Made    Double    Harness     complete  with    Collars,  for 

Just  think  of  such  an  offer  for  such  fine  work.    This  means  a 
Cut  of  $50.00  to  each  member  of  the  Y.  M.  M.  I.  A. 

If  you  want  a  buggy,  send  for  one  of  our  1|  Izzer  Buggies 
with  Four  Bow  Top  and  Set  of  Single    Harness,  for 


$140. 


$100. 


A  CUT  OF  $27.50. 


iTerythIng  In  Same  ProDortlon.  ^^^^^st  Stock  of  Yehlcles  aid  Harness 

— = — Carried  in  the  West. 

Studebaker   Bros.,  Mfgf.  Co., 

J57  and  J59  State  Street,  -  SALT  LAKE  CITY. 

(WHKN  WRITING  TO  ADVERTISERS  MENTION  THE  ERA.) 

VALUABLE  TEXT  BOOKS  FOR  THEOLOGICAL   CLASSES  OF 

SABBATH  SCHOOLS  ^^"  QUORUMS. 

TheM.I.A.Manuals 

J.  The  Life  of  Jesus.  book  on  \he  history  of  the  Church 

2*  The  Apostolic  Age.  from   J  805  to    J  839  and  containing 

3.  The  Dispensation  of  tlie  Full-  many    choice  items   not    generally 

ness     of    Times.      Being    a    text  accessible.  Price  25c  each. 

Send  orders  to  "fH^MAS    HULL    214  Templeton  Bidg. 
SALT    LAKE    CITY,    UTAH. 

(when   WRITING   TO   ADVERTISERS   MENTION  THE^ERA.) 


MARTIN  WAGNER  CO., 

p^oKBRs  OR  Baltimore,     Nld.., 

OYSTEt^S, 

pl^UlTS  8t 


m     THB     SIGN 
OF  THC 

DOC'S     HBRD 

LOOK   FOR    THE    HISHEtT 
REFECTION    IN    CANNED   OOODt. 


DOQ'S  HEAD 


VEOETABliES. 


CORN 

PEAS 

PEARS 

APPLES 

PUMPKIN 

PEACHES 

OYSTERS 


TOMATOES 
PINEAPPLE 
LIMA  BEANS 
STRING  BEANS 
BLUE  BERRIES 
STRAW  BERRIES 
BLACK  BERRIES 


SWEET  POTATOES. 

BRAND.  i-,osxoN)^^     «   u    .  ,  l-  .  ■    r,        ^«    ^ 

IXaked    >  The  nightsi  Achitvement  in  Canned  Gooaa. 


WfiRNICKJB    BOOK    GASES. 


LIBRARY    GLOBES. 


C.  p.  WEBEH  St  CO., 


SCHOOL,  CHURCH  and  OPERA  HOUSE  FURNITURE. 


-School  Supplies. 


Telephone  480-4.        B.  A.  McMUjLiEN,  Manager. 
77  W.  First  South  Street,  SALT  LAKE  CITY,  UTAH. 


TWIN 

BROTfltRS 

MUSti 


DeliciODS. 


Notritions. 


^  Economical.  ^ 

THE  FAVORITE  BREAKFAST    FOODS 

Specially  adapted  for  Children,  Aged  People  and  Invalids. 

^^ ALL    GROCERS    SELL    IT 

(WHEN  WRITING  TO  ADVKRTISER8  MENTION  THE  BBA.) 


^^%^^%^%/%'%/%^%/%<'%/%^%^'%/%/%/%''%^/%/%''%/%/%/%%/%^%/%-'%^%^%^%'  '%^ 


Sklt   I-kkb  Oity.  J 

UTPCH     5 


Z.  C.M.I. 

MANUFACTURERS  AND  IMPORTERS  OF 
AND  DEALERS  ^^T  — — 

(general  Merchandise.  ^  ^  \^ 

Qup  Exterfsi've  Stock  is  the  Largest  and  Best 
^  ~  -  '   '"       '  Selected  in  the  State,  and  we  have  the 

BEST  GOODS  AT  LOWEST  PRICES. 

OUR  MAMMOTH  ESTABLISHMENT 
CONDUCTS  T»TToTx^Ti'oa  . 

Wholesale    and    retail. 

We  keep  everything  New  and  Up=to-Date  for  all 
FamUy  Supplies.    In  making  small  profits 

OUR  MOTTO  IS  LIVE,  AND  LET  LIVE. 

:b  I?.  jRs.  isr  c  52  e:  s : 

OQDEN,  PROVO,  IDAHO  FALLS, 

John  Watson,  Managrer.       L.  O.  Taft,  Managrer.  B.  Bennett,  Managrer. 

oTPWTi'iTRts-    President,  Lorenzo  Snow,  Secretary,  Thomas  G.  Webber, 

uuriuarvD.    Vice-President,  George  Q.  Cannon,      Treasurer,  A.  W.  Carlson. 
\  Joseph  F.  Smith,    H.  Dlnwoodev,         John  R.  Barnes,      Geo.  Romney,         ^ 

r    DIRECTORS:  Heber  J,  Grant,     P.  T.  Farnswo'rth,    Anthon  H,  Lund,    John  R.  Winder,    ^ 
^  Jolm  Henry  Smith,       Francis  M.  Lyman,       William  H.McIntyre.  ^ 

d  T.  G.   WEBBER,  SUPERINTENDENT.  ^ 


a\^jlSM&M^M&!&M&^^&M^f^&M&I^^I&MM&M&M&M^M&M&M0M&M^SI&M&M&^\ 


Vv  heatine 


THE  ABSOLUTELY  PERFECT  BREAKFAST  FOOD. 
Made  from  choicest  quality  white  California  wheat. 
All  the  woody  fibre  taken  off. 
All  the  gluten  retained. 

FOR  SALE  BY  ALL  FIRST  CLASS  GROCERS.